Nifty 50 closed at 22,082.65 (-36.7, -0.2%) , BSE Sensex closed at 72,989.93 (-96.0, -0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,917.85 (20.9, 0.1%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,446 stocks traded today, 1,419 were gainers and 997 were losers.
Indian indices closed lower, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index closing at 22,082.7 points. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose 0.5% and closed at 13.8 points. One97 Communications (Paytm) closed 3.9% lower after it received a show-cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), involving Rs 611 crore.
Nifty Smallcap 100 closed higher, while Nifty Midcap 100 closed flat. Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank closed in the green. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Healthcare Equipment & Supplies emerged as the best-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 2.8%.
European indices are trading in the red, except for Russia’s RTSI and MOEX. Major Asian indices closed flat or lower. US index futures are trading mixed, indicating a cautious start to the session. Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect today, along with a 10% duty on China, raising the total tariff to 20%. In response, China announced 15% tariffs on US exports, while Canada plans to impose 25%. Meanwhile, Target, Ross Stores, Best Buy, Nordstrom, and CrowdStrike are set to report their earnings later today.
Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Route Mobile, Tata Communications, Grindwell Norton and Cera Sanitaryware are in the oversold zone.
Zydus Lifesciences is rising as it is set to develop the world’s first combination vaccine to offer protection against shigellosis and typhoid in infants and children. The project, backed by the Gates Foundation, begins in March 2025 and includes early-stage development, animal immunogenicity studies, and regulatory preclinical toxicology assessments.
Ventura initiates coverage on State Bank of India with a 'Buy' call and a target price of Rs 1,049 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 46.3%. The brokerage believes the bank's asset quality will stabilise, with the gross and net NPAs at 1.6% and 0.4% by FY27E, respectively. It expects the lender's net interest income to grow at a CAGR of 13.5% over FY25-27.
HBL Engineering rises sharply as the HBL-Shivakriti consortium receives a letter of acceptance (LoA) for a Rs 148.4 crore contract from West Central Railway's Bhopal division. The contract involves installing KAVACH across multiple railway sections in the region, set for completion in 540 days.
Senores Pharmaceuticals rises over 5% as its US subsidiary acquires 14 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) and its applicable affiliates from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
Maharashtra state tax authorities inspect Poonawalla Fincorp's records at its registered office in Pune under Section 67 of the Central and Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Godrej Properties is falling as it cancels its land development agreement with TCM for a project in Thrikkakara, Kochi.
Zen Technologies rises as it secures its third patent for the T-90 tank simulator. The patent is for a portable, high-tech driving simulator designed to train military personnel.
Reliance Industries declines after the Delhi High Court overturns a previous arbitration ruling in favour of RIL, BP Exploration, and NIKO in the KG-D6 gas field dispute with the government. The company had earlier won this case against the Government of India (GOI) over claims of alleged gas migration from ONGC’s blocks. The arbitration panel had awarded $1.55 billion (approximately Rs 12,900 crore) to the consortium.
RateGain Travel Technologies is rising as it partners with Mews to improve hotel operations, enhance guest experiences, and drive revenue growth. The integration of RateGain’s Channel Manager with Mews’ cloud-native property management system enables hoteliers to manage rates, inventory, and reservations across over 400 distribution channels.
Axis Direct retains its 'Buy' call on Ultratech Cement with a higher target price of Rs 13,510 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 29.5%. The brokerage remains positive on the stock's growth driven by capacity expansion, market share gains, operational efficiencies, and benefits from industry consolidation. It expects the firm's net profit to grow at a CAGR of 28% over FY25-27.
Suzlon Energy is rising as it bags another order for 65 S144 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a total capacity of 204.8 MW from Jindal Renewables' subsidiary, Jindal Green Wind 1. This is the third order from Jindal Renewables, bringing the total capacity of the orders to 907.2 MW.
Ravi Jakhar, Chief Strategy Officer at Allcargo Group, remains optimistic about achieving double-digit growth in the domestic express business. He highlights that the company's contract logistics are expanding at 40-50% and expects this trend to continue. He adds that air volumes will constitute around 5% of the total, with 95% coming from surface volumes. Jakhar also mentions that the company has received shareholder approval for its demerger and plans to implement it within the next three months.
Wells Fargo offloads 26.6 lakh ITC shares worth Rs 106.6 crore through a block deal at an average price of Rs 401.6 per share.
Solar Industries India is rising as its wholly-owned subsidiary, Solar Defence and Aerospace, secures a contract worth Rs 239 crore from the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, to supply multi-mode hand grenades.
IndiGrid Infrastructure Trust's subsidiary, IndiGrid 2, receives a Letter of Intent (LoI) from REC Power Development and Consultancy for an inter-state transmission project under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) framework. The project will be completed in 24 months, with annual transmission charges of Rs 195.2 crore post-commissioning
Citi upgrades SBI to a 'Buy' rating and raises its target price to Rs 830. The brokerage highlights the bank's strong focus on enhancing net interest margins (NIMs) through greater attention to current account deposits, reduced reliance on bulk deposits, and optimization of borrowing costs. It believes the bank's upcoming loan repricing and growth in higher-yielding loans will further boost NIMs.
Indian Energy Exchange's electricity volume increases by 9% YoY to 9,622 million units (MU) in February. IEX Green Market achieves a volume growth of 85% YoY to 552 MU.
Time Technoplast is rising as it expands its polyethylene (PE) pipe segment with pipes designed for gas distribution in public and private sectors. The company expects 30% growth in this segment.
Azad Engineering rises sharply as it raises Rs 700 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of 54.7 lakh shares at an issue price of Rs 1,278 per share.
One 97 Communications (Paytm) receives a show-cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, involving Rs 611 crore. The ED claims Paytm made foreign investments in Singapore but did not report the creation of an overseas step-down subsidiary to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Uno Minda establishes a research & development (R&D) and engineering centre in the Czech Republic. The facility will focus on developing lighting technologies for the automotive industry.
Maharashtra State GST officials conduct searches at three RBL Bank offices under Section 67 of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
ASK Automotive surges as it signs a Technical Assistance and License Agreement with Japan’s Kyushu Yanagawa Seiki (KYSK) to manufacture high-pressure die-cast alloy wheels for two-wheelers.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launches acetylcysteine injection single-dose vials after acquiring the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) from Aspen Pharma USA. The injection has a market size of $15.2 million (~ Rs 132.8 crore) for the year ending January 2025, according to IQVIA.
Nifty 50 was trading at 21,968.45 (-150.9, -0.7%), BSE Sensex was trading at 72,728.21 (-357.7, -0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,683.55 (-213.4, -1.1%).
Market breadth is moving down. Of the 1,980 stocks traded today, 270 were on the uptrend, and 1,669 went down.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (315.20, 5.8%), General Insurance Corporation of India (382.20, 5.3%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (2,647.55, 5.1%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include Bajaj Auto Ltd. (7,333.30, -5.0%), Adani Green Energy Ltd. (768.55, -4.4%) and Supreme Industries Ltd. (3,377.35, -4.4%).
Volume Shockers
17 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included India Cements Ltd. (295.20, 15.1%), Concord Biotech Ltd. (1,743.50, 14.6%) and Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (127.04, 13.4%).
Top high volume loser on BSE was Sapphire Foods India Ltd. (319.90, -1.9%).
AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. (7,306.25, 6.5%) was trading at 11.6 times of weekly average. DCM Shriram Ltd. (1,013.50, 9.7%) and Schaeffler India Ltd. (3,212.70, 4.1%) were trading with volumes 10.5 and 8.1 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
2 stocks hit their 52 week highs, while 56 stocks hit their 52 week lows.
Stocks touching their year highs included - Abbott India Ltd. (31,539.90, 1.1%) and Narayana Hrudayalaya Ltd. (1,559.85, -3.5%).
Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Asian Paints Ltd. (2,132.10, -1.6%) and Astral Ltd. (1,306.85, -3.1%).
8 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. (7,306.25, 6.5%) and Godrej Agrovet Ltd. (738.40, 2.8%). 13 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Jubilant Foodworks Ltd. (610.25, -3.7%) and Five-Star Business Finance Ltd. (695.95, -3.3%).