Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 41 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.
On Friday, Asian markets saw an uptick following a surge on Wall Street overnight, with investors eagerly anticipating China’s manufacturing data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed by 0.72%, accompanied by a 0.50% rise in the Topix index. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures suggested a weaker start, while South Korea’s markets remained closed for the Movement Day holiday.
On Thursday, the US stock market indices surged, achieving record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, primarily driven by the performance of technology stocks following the release of inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.12% to 38,996.39 points, the S&P 500 climbed 0.52% to 5,096.27 points, and the Nasdaq Composite concluded 0.90% higher at 16,091.92 points.
Stocks News:
👉 Adani Enterprises: The company has divested its 100 percent stake in subsidiary Vizag Tech Park to Adani Infrastructure and Developers for Rs 150.81 crore. With this, Vizag Tech Park has ceased to be a subsidiary of the company.
👉 Godrej Industries: The company has increased its stake in subsidiary Godrej Capital to 89.48 percent, up from 87.23 percent earlier. It has bought the said 2.25 percent stake from June 2023 to February 2024. Godrej Capital is a core investment company that holds equity shares of Godrej Housing Finance and Godrej Finance.
👉 Vedanta: The Supreme Court dismissed Vedanta’s plea seeking reopening of its Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu for judgment. The court said it has to be mindful of the principle of sustainable development, and the health and welfare of the residents of the area are matters of utmost concern.
👉 TVS Motor Company: Subsidiary TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte Ltd. has paid 2 million euros and initiated the acquisition of 8,000 equity shares in Killwatt GmbH. Post-acquisition, the shareholding of TVS Motor (Singapore) in Killwatt GmbH will be increased from 39.28 percent to 49 percent via newly issued shares of Killwatt GmbH.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 3,568.11 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 230.21 crore worth of stocks on February 29, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.4% during the third quarter of FY24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy in the world. GDP growth for Q1FY24 and Q2FY24 has also been revised upwards to 8.2% and 8.1%, respectively. The FY24 GDP growth estimate has also been revised upwards to 7.6% from 7%.
- India’s fiscal deficit during the first ten months of FY24 stood at ₹11.03 lakh crore, or 63.6% of the revised annual estimate, according to data released. The fiscal deficit narrowed from ₹11.91 lakh crore, or 67.8% reported in the same period last year.
- India’s eight core sectors expanded by 3.6% in January, marking the slowest growth in 15 months, as per Ministry of Commerce and Industry data released on February 29. This growth is down from December 2023’s 3.8%, which was revised up to 4.9% by the ministry. In comparison, the sectors had grown by 9.7% in January 2023.
- Crude oil prices fell on Thursday as the US inflation data and rising OPEC production weighed on prices. Brent futures for April delivery settled at $83.62 a barrel, down 6 cents, while US crude settled at $78.26 a barrel, losing 28 cents.
- Gold reached a one-month peak on Thursday, buoyed by a weakening dollar following in-line U.S. inflation data. Traders are now focused on Federal Reserve officials’ remarks for insights into potential interest rate adjustments. As of 12:59 p.m. ET (1759 GMT), spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,045.59 per ounce, while US gold futures increased by 0.6% to $2,054.40. Silver climbed 1% to $22.67 per ounce, platinum remained steady at $878.73, and palladium edged up 1.1% to $939.75.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,511 | (0.2) % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,015 | 1.9 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,939 | (0.0) % |
| DAX | 17,678 | 0.4 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,630 | 0.1 % |
| Nikkei | 39,166 | (0.1) % |
| Straits Times | 3,142 | 0.1 % |
