Nifty 50 closed at 22,011.95 (172.9, 0.8%), BSE Sensex closed at 72,641.19 (539.5, 0.8%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,897.40 (265.4, 1.4%). Market breadth is overwhelmingly positive. Of the 2,114 stocks traded today, 1,679 were on the uptick, and 406 were down.

Indian indices maintained the gains from the afternoon session and closed in the green. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, dropped by 7.1% and closed at 12.5 points. India’s provisional manufacturing PMI expanded to 59.2 in March. The PMI is at the highest level since 2008. New orders from domestic and exports have helped in increased manufacturing activity.    

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed higher, following the benchmark index. Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal closed higher than Wednesday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, realty emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of over 2.9%. 

Most European indices trade in the green. US indices futures trade higher, indicating a positive start. The data released by Hamburg Commercial Bank indicated that the Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI for March contracted to 45.7 against estimates of 47.

• Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, Sanofi India, TTK Prestige and Amber Enterprises India are in the oversold zone.

• Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services rises as it wins a two-year contract from Expleo Solutions to offer services via its Zaggle Save platform.

• According to Emkay Global Research, retail credit growth drives the Indian banking sector, but attracting retail deposits affordably remains a key challenge. According to the firm, growing structural risks and a high loan-to-deposit ratio are intensifying the competition for deposits among banks.

  As Indian banking sector rides retail credit growth, biggest challenge could be raising retail deposits at a reasonable cost, says #EmkayGlobalResearch.@PragattiOberoi8 reports ??https://t.co/5vbyfelOsb

  — NDTV Profit (@NDTVProfitIndia) March 21, 2024

• Power stocks like Bharat Heavy Electricals, Siemens, CG Power & Industrial Solutions and NTPC surge more than 3% in trade. All constituents of the broader BSE Power index are also trading in the green, helping it to rise more than 2%.

• DCB Bank approves the appointment of Praveen Achuthan Kutty as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 29, 2024.

• Lloyds Metals & Energy rises as its board approves the issue of equity shares worth Rs 5,000 crore via a qualified institutional placement (QIP).

• India's Services PMI saw its fastest rate of expansion in eight months, reaching 61.3 in March, up from 60.6 in February 2024. The manufacturing sector, continuing as a major economic contributor, led this growth.

  #India's business activity grew at its quickest pace in eight months in March, maintaining its position as the fastest-growing major economy.https://t.co/vwqU3jUdLe

  — Business Today (@business_today) March 21, 2024

• ICICI Direct maintains a 'Buy' rating on CreditAccess Grameen with an upgraded target price of Rs 1,700. This indicates a potential upside of 21.7%. The firm cites rural reach, broader geographic spread, and product diversification as growth drivers. It expects the company's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 19% over FY23-26.

• Mahindra & Mahindra inks an agreement with Adani Total Energies E-Mobility to develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.

• RateGain Travel Technologies is rising as Brightline Trains, a US railway company, chooses RateGain's AirGain for advanced rail and airline pricing intelligence in the US market.

• Tata Sons, promoter of Tata Consultancy Services, sells a 0.7% stake in the open market. It now holds 71.7% of the company.

• Gensol Engineering announces the commissioning of its 10.6 MWp single rooftop solar project for Trident at its Budhni plant in Madhya Pradesh.

  #JustIn | Gensol Engineering successfully commissions 10.6 MWp single rooftop solar project in Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/gmGa75HSqZ

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) March 21, 2024

• NMDC is falling as it cuts lump ore prices to Rs 5,800 per tonne from Rs 6,000 and fines to Rs 5,060 per tonne from Rs 5,310.

• SEPC rises sharply as it receives a work order worth AED 20.1 million (approx. Rs 45.4 crore) to design, engineer, procure commission and test an AI centre called Experience Centre in Dubai.

• RailTel Corp of India wins an order worth Rs 99 crore from the State Project Director of Bihar Education Project Council to supply student kits.

• Nihar Chheda, Vice-President of corporate strategy at Prince Pipes & Fittings, states the newly acquired Aquel brand is projected to generate Rs 120 crore annually from 1 lakh units. The acquisition will enable in-house manufacturing. He expects margins to be around 13-15% once they scale up.

  Prince Pipes & Fittings
  
  Gives some colour on the bathware brand Aquel
  ????Can do Rs.120cr & has surplus land to expand
  ????Margins can be approx. 13% to 15% once they scale up
  
  Sounds optimistic on prospects of Pipes business ????#StockMarket #StocksToWatch https://t.co/8rHXT5wzVW

  — Nigel D'Souza (@Nigel__DSouza) March 21, 2024

• Infrastructure stocks like IRB Infrastructure Developers, Power Finance Corp, REC and NCC surge more than 5% in trade. All constituents of the broader BSE India Infrastructure are also trading in the green, helping it to rise more than 2%.

• Krystal Integrated Services’ shares debut on the bourses at a 9.8% premium to the issue price of Rs 715. The Rs 300.1 crore IPO has received bids for 13.2 times the total shares on offer.

• Wockhardt is rising as its board approves a Rs 350 crore equity share issue through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The board has reportedly set the issue price at Rs 517 per share. The company also has a green shoe option to raise an additional Rs 220 crore.

• The government reportedly approves adding wheat and rice to the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), following the sale of Bharat atta and rice as part of its retail intervention to combat inflation ahead of the general elections. The fund, previously covering onions, potatoes, and legumes, will increase India's buffer of essential foods.

  Government has approved inclusion of wheat and rice under its #PSF after it started selling Bharat atta and rice as part of its retail intervention in a bid to tame inflation as prices are soaring ahead of general elections, a government official said.https://t.co/Pzv1CrhcJj

  — Mint (@livemint) March 21, 2024

• Rail Vikas Nigam rises as it reportedly wins an order worth Rs 167.3 crore to develop an electric traction system in the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway.

• Avenue Supermarts is rising as CLSA reportedly initiates coverage with a 'Buy' rating and a target price of Rs 5,107. This indicates a potential upside of 23.3%. The brokerage expects the company's stores to increase three times by FY34 amid expansion plans.

• ASM Technologies rises sharply as it plans to raise Rs 170.1 crore via a preferential allotment of equity shares.

• Wipro rises as it appoints Anne-Marie Rowland as the Chief Executive Officer of Capco, effective April 1, 2024.

• Nifty 50 was trading at 22,010.70 (171.6, 0.8%), BSE Sensex was trading at 72,507.36 (405.7, 0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,825.20 (193.2, 1.0%).

• Market breadth is overwhelmingly positive. Of the 1,826 stocks traded today, 1,635 were on the uptick, and 156 were down.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. (541.40, 7.8%), Muthoot Finance Ltd. (1,434.45, 7.1%) and Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (386.75, 7.0%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include One97 Communications Ltd. (410.85, -2.2%), Max Healthcare Institute Ltd. (748.80, -1.2%) and Petronet LNG Ltd. (258.65, -1.2%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Engineers India Ltd. (195.90, 12.3%), Sobha Ltd. (1,402.05, 12.0%) and Hitachi Energy India Ltd. (7,242, 8.7%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Tata Investment Corporation Ltd. (6,275.30, -3.1%), Cyient Ltd. (1,986.80, -0.7%) and Route Mobile Ltd. (1,603.45, -0.5%).

Galaxy Surfactants Ltd. (2,282.25, 1.0%) was trading at 9.6 times of weekly average. Ajanta Pharma Ltd. (2,118.05, 1.7%) and Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd. (313.60, 1.5%) were trading with volumes 6.7 and 4.5 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

6 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 2 stocks tanked below their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Bharti Airtel Ltd. (1,220.80, -0.9%), Cummins India Ltd. (2,898.25, 3.7%) and Thermax Ltd. (3,859.85, 4.7%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (2,242.35, 0.0%) and IIFL Finance Ltd. (336.30, -0.1%).

23 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Polycab India Ltd. (4,986.55, 5.1%) and Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd. (1,050.80, 5.0%). 5 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Metro Brands Ltd. (1,130.15, -3.8%) and Sanofi India Ltd. (7,535.75, -2.2%).