Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 17,076.90 (-75, -0.4%), BSE Sensex closed at 57,925.28 (-289.3, -0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,403.60 (-56.4, -0.4%). Of the 1,956 stocks traded today, 702 showed gains, and 1,195 showed losses.

Indian indices settled in the red after switching between losses and gains throughout the day, with the Nifty 50 falling below the 17,100 mark. KEC International closed higher after it bagged orders of transmission & distribution worth Rs 1,560 crore from Power Grid Corp. 

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the red, following the benchmark index. Nifty Infra and Nifty Bank closed lower than Wednesday’s closing levels. Maruti Suzuki India closed higher after announccing price hikes across its models starting April to partially offset the impact of overall inflation and regulatory requirements.

European stocks traded in the red as investors digested the latest interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve ahead of a policy-setting meeting by the Bank of England. Brent crude oil prices traded in the green for a fourth trading session as traders bet on rate hike pause later in the year, which could improve crude oil demand. Brent crude oil futures are up over 5% in the last four trading sessions.

• Maruti Suzuki is set to hike the prices of vehicles, effective from April, to partially offset the effect of inflationary pressures and regulatory requirements.

  #MarutiSuzuki to hike prices from April to offset #inflation impact.#PriceHike #automobile
  https://t.co/Y9yRw3zStw

  — Business Standard (@bsindia) March 23, 2023

• Patel Engineering and its joint venture partner bag a contract worth Rs 3,637.1 crore from NHPC for the construction of civil works for Dibang Multipurpose Project 2880 MW. The company shows up in a screener for undervalued growth stocks.

• Vascon Engineering receives a letter of acceptance worth Rs 158.1 crore from Superintending Engineer of PMGSY Circle, Prayagraj, for the construction of Jila Karagar at Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. The project is expected to be completed within 18 months.

• Prabhudas Lilladher maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Avenue Supermarts with a target price of Rs 4,699, indicating an upside of 40.1%. The brokerage believes the company’s increasing urban presence, reduced delivery time and attractive prices will drive growth in the coming quarters. It expects the firm’s net profit to rise at a CAGR of 36.5% over FY22-25.

• Macquarie initiates coverage on InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo) with a ‘Buy’ and a target price of Rs 2,600. The brokerage says cost structure and balance sheet are the company’s key strengths for near-term growth. However, fuel prices remain a risk.

  Stocks to Watch | Macquarie on IndiGo: Initiates coverage with Outperform rating; read the view below#StockMarket @Macquarie @IndiGo6E #IndiGo #Macquarie pic.twitter.com/mdMgGwD2i4

  — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 23, 2023

• Anupam Rasayan is rising as it signs a letter of intent worth Rs 984 crore for six years with a Japanese chemical company. The company will supply a new-age advanced intermediate for life science active ingredients. It shows up in a screener for stocks that have gained over 20% in a month.

• Jefferies maintains an ‘Underperform’ on Asian Paints with a target price of Rs 2,570. The brokerage says outlook on the company is improving on the back of margin headwinds in the past few quarters. It adds that the stock price has corrected 20% from its peak.

  Brokerage Radar | @Jefferies on @asianpaints: Maintain Underperform; outlook is improving as the company's key RM prices are trending down
  
  #Jefferies #AsianPaints pic.twitter.com/ikq46BSE8x

  — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 23, 2023

• IT stocks like Persistent Systems, LTIMindtree, L&T Technology Services, Coforge and HCL Technologies are falling in trade. All constituents of the broader sectoral index Nifty IT are also trading in the red.

• Chalet Hotels acquires 100% equity shares of Sonmil Industries for Rs 74.6 crore and 82.3% of The Dukes Retreat for Rs 81.8 crore.

• Hero MotoCorp is rising as it announces a 2% price hike on certain motorcycles and scooters from April 1. The price hike is being implemented to cover the cost of its transition to On-Board Diagnostics II. The stock ranks medium on the Trendlyne Checklist score.

• HG Infra Engineering is rising as it emerges as the lowest bidder (bid amount: Rs 925.1 crore) for the construction of a six-lane greenfield highway in Jharkhand. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) estimates the cost of the project at Rs 764 crore, with a construction period of two years.

• Indian rupee appreciates to 82.38 from the previous close of 82.66 against the US dollar in early trade today. The rise is on the back of a weak dollar and foreign fund inflows into the domestic market.

  #RupeeCheck | Rupee opens at 82.38/$ vs Tuesday’s close of 82.66/$ pic.twitter.com/2HIyQ7gx1z

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) March 23, 2023

• Infosys, MphasiS and Ultratech Cement's weekly average delivery volumes rise ahead of their Q4FY23 results in April

• GR Infraprojects is rising as it emerges as the lowest bidder for two projects involving construction and civil works at Dibang, Arunachal Pradesh, and building a six-lane highway from Surat to Solapur. The total project cost is Rs 4,508.29 crore. The total project cost is Rs 4,508.29 crore. GR Infraprojects had hit a 52-week low in the past week.

• Hindustan Aeronautics is set to float an offer for sale (OFS) at Rs 2,450 per share as the Centre plans to sell a 3.5% stake in the company on March 23 and March 24. The Centre owns a 75% stake in HAL.

• KEC International secures orders worth Rs 1,560 crore from Power Grid Corp for transmission and distribution projects. The projects involve building a transmission line and substations. However, it shows up in a screener of stocks with declining RoA for the past two years.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Adani Total Gas Ltd. (982.05, 5.00%), Adani Green Energy Ltd. (982.35, 5.00%) and Adani Transmission Ltd. (1,084.40, 5.00%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Vedanta Ltd. (271.25, -4.94%), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (2,496.35, -4.89%) and Berger Paints (India) Ltd. (575.95, -3.08%).

Volume Shockers

13 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (181.45, 11.39%), G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,028.75, 6.58%) and Star Cement Ltd. (114.65, 6.31%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Vedanta Ltd. (271.25, -4.94%), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (2496.35, -4.89%) and Sobha Ltd. (436.35, -3.58%).

Sheela Foam Ltd. (1,053.35, -2.86%) was trading at 14.5 times of weekly average. Aegis Logistics Ltd. (393.85, 5.90%) and Prism Johnson Ltd. (106.30, 2.85%) were trading with volumes 7.2 and 6.2 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

1 stock took off, crossing 52-week highs, while 13 stocks were underachievers and hit their 52-week lows.

Stock touching their year highs included - NCC Ltd. (105.95, 1.00%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd. (837.00, -0.59%) and Caplin Point Laboratories Ltd. (601.80, -0.41%).

12 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Hitachi Energy India Ltd. (3,357.15, 3.39%) and Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd. (374.85, 2.88%). 5 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Vedanta Ltd. (271.25, -4.94%) and IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (24.80, -2.55%).