The key equity benchmarks edged higher in early trade, as decent buying demand in index pivotals led the key indices higher. The Nifty traded tad above the 17,000 mark. Barring oil & gas, shares across sectors advanced with auto, FMCG and financials rising the most.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 115.08 points or 0.20% to 57,728.80. The Nifty 50 index advanced 50.15 points or 0.3% to 17,001.85.

Adani Ports (up 1.79%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.39%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.22%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.04%) and Eicher Motors (up 1.03%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Reliance Industries (up 0.71%), Tata Steel (down 0.63%), Infosys (down 0.34%), Apollo Hospitals (down 0.12%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.11%) were the top Nifty laggards.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.56%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,720 shares rose and 798 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

Trading could be volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March series to April series. The March 2023 F&O contracts will expire today, 29 March 2023.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Thursday, 30 March 2023 on account of Ram Navami.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta rose 0.47%. The board of directors of the company approved the fifth interim dividend of Rs 20.50 per equity share on face value of Re 1 per share for the financial year 2022-23. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is 7 April 2023.

Granules India shed 0.18%. The US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved Granules India's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Gabapentin tablets USP, 600 mg and 800 mg. The drug is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD), Neurontin tablets, 600 mg and 800 mg, of Viatris Specialty LLC.

Zydus Lifesciences was up 0.08%. The company has received final approval for Loperamide Hydrochloride Capsules USP, 2 mg (USRLD: Imodium Capsules) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced to 7.337 from 7.321 in previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.2500, compared with its close of 82.1600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement declined 0.20% to Rs 58,923.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 102.58.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.15% to 3.573.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement added 15 cents or 0.19% to $78.80 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are mostly higher on Wednesday as Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares spiked at the open after the Chinese tech giant announced it will split into six business groups.

Australia's monthly inflation pace for February came in at a slower pace at 6.8% compared to the same period a year ago. This is lower than January's figure of 7.4%. Data from the country's statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were in the housing, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, then in transport.

US stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors weighed comments from a top US regulator on struggling banks and sold shares of technology-related names after their recent strong run.

Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 104.2 in March from 103.4 in February. The board said that despite the uptick in confidence, the index remains below 2022's average level of 104.5.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News