Nifty slides below 23,350; metal shares rally for 4th day

The key equity benchmarks traded with small cuts with some negative bias in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,350 mark. Metal shares extended gains for the four consecutive trading sessions. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty50 F&O series expiry today.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 19.05 points, or 0.03%, to 73,711.18. The Nifty 50 index fell 2.40 points, or 0.01%, to 22,334.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.48%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.31%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,866 shares rose and 886 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The BJP secured two out of three Member of Legislative Council (MLC) seats in Telangana, winning the prestigious Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Graduates constituency. BJPs Chinnamile Anji Reddy triumphed by a margin of 5,106 votes after the second-preference count of votes. He received a total of 98,637 votes, while his immediate Congress rival V Narender Reddy got 93,531.

Union minister Bandi Sanjay cited the BJP's extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.

A day before, the BJP and Progressive Recognized Teachers Union (PRTU) had bagged one each of the two teachers MLC seats for which elections were held. M Komaraiah of the BJP bagged the Medak-Nizamabad-Karimnagar-Adilabad teachers MLC seat while PRTU candidate P. Sripal Reddy won the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam teachers constituency.

Meanwhile, celebrations erupted among BJP supporters in Karimnagar, with Central Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and party workers gathering in a victory rally. He hailed the win as a Ramzan gift to the Congress and declared that the BJP has firmly established itself as a formidable alternative in Telangana. He said BJPs extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index added 1.70% to 8,832.95. The index jumped 7.46% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 6.92%), Jindal Stainless (up 4.4%), Hindustan Copper (up 3.88%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.66%), Welspun Corp. (up 2.34%), Tata Steel (up 2.04%), Vedanta (up 1.89%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.54%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.41%), and NMDC (up 1.41%) added.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IOL Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals rallied 4.44% after the company received a certificate of suitability (CEP) for its API product, Quetiapine Fumarate, from the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Health Care (EDQM).

Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services advanced 2.79% after the company announced that it had entered into a Zatix Service Agreement with Tech Mahindra.

RPP Infra Projects was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company received a letter of acceptance for a new project worth Rs 80.98 crore from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

Zydus Lifesciences added 2.12% after the company said that it has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to manufacture generic Dasatinib tablets in multiple strengths.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks traded higher on Thursday as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers.

South Korea's inflation rate decreased in February for the first time in four months, registering a 2% increase compared to 2.2% in January. This figure was slightly above the 1.95% expected. It also affords more room for South Koreas central bank to cut rates further as the country struggles with a slowing economy.

The White House confirmed the postponement; with press spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating that Trump remains open to further tariff exemptions after discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In Asia, key economic data releases include unemployment figures from the Philippines, inflation updates from Vietnam, and Malaysias interest rate decision. Later in the day, both the European Central Bank and Turkeys central bank will announce their own rate decisions.

On the U.S. economic front, initial jobless claims data is due ahead of Friday's critical monthly payrolls report.

U.S. stocks surged Wednesday after Trumps decision to grant automakers a temporary exemption from the newly imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.1% higher on Wednesday, ending a two-day losing streak. The S&P 500 also advanced by 1.1%, while the NASDAQ Composite climbed 1.5%.

Shares of major automakers jumped, with General Motors advancing 7.2% and Ford climbing 5.8%. Stellantis NV shares surged 9.2%, while US-listed Toyota Motor shares jumped 6.5%.

Adding to market optimism, fresh data showed unexpected strength in the U.S. services sector. The ISM Services PMI rose to 53.5 in February from 52.8 in January, beating forecasts and signaling resilience in economic activity.

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