Nifty 50 closed at 22,119.30 (-5.4, 0.0%), BSE Sensex closed at 73,085.94 (-112.2, -0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,896.95 (16.1, 0.1%). Market breadth is sharply down. Of the 2,468 stocks traded today, 623 were on the uptrend, and 1,821 went down.
Indian indices closed flat, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index closing at 22,119.3 points. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, declined 1.1% and closed at 13.8 points. India’s manufacturing PMI declined to a 14-month low of 56.3 in February, compared to 57.7 in January, due to softer demand in the sector despite rising export orders.
Nifty Midcap 100 closed flat, while Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the red. BSE Power & BSE Capital Goods were among the top index gainers today. According to Trendlyne’s Sector dashboard, General Industrials emerged as the best-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 1.5%.
Asian indices closed mixed, while European indices are trading higher except Russia’s MOEX & RTSI index. US index futures traded in the green, indicating a positive start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures are trading in the red. UBS adopted a cautious outlook on the US market, pointing to factors like extremely high relative valuations, a slowdown in the pace of buybacks, and crowded conditions in the US according to their data. They also highlighted that the gap in relative GDP growth between the US, Europe, and Japan is narrowing.
Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like VIP Industries, Oracle Financial Services, Cera Sanitaryware, and Tata Elxsi are in the oversold zone.
MOIL rises as it revises manganese ore prices from March 1, 2025, raising ferro-grade ore (Mn 44% and above) by 10% and lower grades by 6.5%. The company's February production stands at 1.5 lakh tonnes, with exploratory core drilling up 43% YoY to 11,455 meters.
Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing is falling as it receives a GST demand worth Rs 440.2 crore from the deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai, for FY21.
ICICI Securities retains its 'Buy' call on Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals with a lower target price of Rs 440 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 34.9%. The brokerage believes that the company's air cooler segment will report robust growth owing to expectations of a hot summer. It expects the firm's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 11.6% over FY25-27.
India’s manufacturing PMI declines to a 14-month low of 56.3 in February, compared to 57.7 in January, due to softer demand in the sector despite rising export orders.
IndusInd Bank is falling as Integrated Core Strategies sells 50.9 lakh shares via a bulk deal at an average price of Rs 986.7 per share.
Tata Motors falls to its 52-week low of Rs 606.3 as its total domestic wholesales decline 9% YoY to 77,232 units in February due to a 7% YoY and 9% YoY drop in commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle sales, respectively.
MSTC falls as it receives a Rs 105.6 crore tax demand from the Income Tax Department for AY 2019-20. The company plans to challenge the assessment and file an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax.
TeamLease Services declines as Goldman Sachs India Equity Portfolio sells over 2 lakh shares via multiple bulk deals for Rs 48.8 crore. Meanwhile, Nippon India Mutual Fund acquires 2.7 lakh shares in the company worth Rs 50.7 crore.
Jindal Worldwide's board of directors approves the issue of 4 bonus shares for every share held in the company. The company will issue up to 80.2 crore shares.
Larsen & Toubro rises as its power transmission and distribution unit secures large orders worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore in India and overseas. The company will develop transmission lines for a renewable energy zone in Uttar Pradesh and a 380 kilovolt (kV) substation in Saudi Arabia.
Maruti Suzuki's total sales grow by 5.1% YoY to 1.9 lakh units in February. Passenger vehicle sales increase 5.4% YoY, while commercial vehicle sales are down 8.1% YoY.
The Bombay High Court grants an urgent hearing to the pleas filed by SEBI and BSE against the FIR order in the Cals Refineries case. The FIR alleges that SEBI officials facilitated market manipulation and corporate fraud by approving the company's listing, which did not meet the required norms. SEBI and BSE's former chairpersons, Madhabi Buch and Pramod Agarwal, are named in the FIR along with three whole-time members of SEBI.
Eicher Motors is rising as its total sales grow by 19% YoY to 90,670 units in February. Domestic vehicle sales increase 19.4% YoY, while exports are up 23% YoY.
Reliance Industries plunges to its 52-week low of Rs 1,156 per share as reports suggest it could receive a $14 million (~ Rs 122.3 crore) penalty for failing to establish a battery cell plant. This project is part of the government's push to cut import dependence under the PLI program, where manufacturers are eligible for Rs 18,100 crore subsidies to meet milestones for the project to set up 30 GWh of advanced chemistry cell battery storage.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone handles 36.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in February, primarily driven by an increase in containers (16% YoY) and liquids & gas (12% YoY). For FY25, the company expects cargo volumes to range between 460-480 MMT.
A report by Centrum projects India's GDP growth for FY25 at 6.5%, with the economy expected to accelerate in Q4. Factors like robust government capital spending, a recovery in the rural economy, a possible rise in private investment, and further rate cuts by RBI are expected to support recovery in the coming quarters. The brokerage believes the potential boost in consumption demand from spending during the 'Maha-Kumbh' could positively influence the growth outlook.
Dalmia Bharat, through its subsidiaries, announces a Rs 3,520 crore investment in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The company plans to set up a 3.6 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) clinker and 3 MnTPA grinding unit in Belgaum, Karnataka, along with a new 3 MnTPA greenfield split grinding unit in Pune, Maharashtra.
Mankind Pharma falls sharply as it receives a Rs 111.7 crore tax demand from the Income Tax (IT) Department for AY 2021-22. The company believes the demand is not tenable and plans to appeal against the order under applicable laws.
Piramal Enterprises is falling as it receives a GST demand worth Rs 1,502 crore from the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Maharashtra, for the sale of its pharma business for Rs 4,487 crore. The department contends that the sale is an itemized sale instead of a slump sale, levying an 18% GST on the sale consideration.
Ola Electric declines over 4% as it reportedly plans to lay off more than a thousand employees and contract workers across multiple departments to reduce its growing losses.
Indian Overseas Bank plunges to its 52-week low of Rs 41.2 per share as it receives a GST demand worth Rs 699.5 crore for assessment year FY21 from the Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Chennai.
Mastek is falling as it receives a warning letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) after identifying unpublished price-sensitive information.
NCC is rising as its transport division bags an order worth Rs 218.8 crore from a state government.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank is rising as it sells its non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 364.5 crore to an asset reconstruction company (ARC) for a consideration of Rs 34.3 crore.
Markets rise on early trading, Nifty 50 was trading at 22,253.75 (129.1, 0.6%), BSE Sensex was trading at 73,560.62 (362.5, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,987.70 (106.8, 0.5%).
Market breadth is overwhelmingly positive. Of the 2,074 stocks traded today, 1,372 were on the uptrend, and 650 went down.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include Tube Investments of India Ltd. (2,640.10, 7.2%), Supreme Industries Ltd. (3,532.80, 6.1%) and Prestige Estates Projects Ltd. (1,184, 5.1%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (147.31, -5.6%), Central Bank of India (42, -4.5%) and UCO Bank (34.84, -4.2%).
Movers and Shakers
18 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included Anupam Rasayan India Ltd. (709.30, 12.2%), Narayana Hrudayalaya Ltd. (1,615.60, 11.8%) and Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd. (1,566.95, 11.2%).
Top high volume losers on BSE were Angel One Ltd. (1,978.05, -8.8%), Hatsun Agro Products Ltd. (898.30, -7.6%) and Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd. (580.55, -5.8%).
Welspun Living Ltd. (116.87, 9.3%) was trading at 8.3 times of weekly average. Action Construction Equipment Ltd. (1,026.50, -2.3%) and Blue Star Ltd. (2,032.50, 6.0%) were trading with volumes 7.6 and 5.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
2 stocks made 52 week highs, while 162 stocks were underachievers and hit their 52 week lows.
Stocks touching their year highs included - Abbott India Ltd. (31,183.55, 2.6%) and Narayana Hrudayalaya Ltd. (1,615.60, 11.8%).
Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - 3M India Ltd. (26,275.90, -0.1%) and ACC Ltd. (1,825.75, 0.4%).
10 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd. (1,566.95, 11.2%) and Sapphire Foods India Ltd. (326.05, 5.1%). 18 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including eClerx Services Ltd. (2,622.55, -7.5%) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (4,715.15, -5.5%).