Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 7.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
On Thursday, Asian markets experienced upward momentum, marked by Japan’s Nikkei 225 index reaching a new all-time high, influenced by the positive performance on Wall Street the previous night. The Nikkei 225 saw a 0.8% increase, and the Topix also achieved a record high with a 0.6% rise. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi posted a gain of 0.42%, and the Kosdaq saw a 0.1% increase. Anticipations of a higher opening were reflected in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures.
On Wednesday, Wall Street mirrored the global trend with a higher closing, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s reassurances to investors about potential rate cuts this year led to a dip in the benchmark US Treasury yield to a one-month low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 75.86 points (0.2%) to reach 38,661.05, the S&P 500 rose by 26.11 points (0.51%) to 5,104.76, and the Nasdaq Composite added 91.96 points (0.58%) to achieve 16,031.54.
Stocks News:
đ Tata Motors: On March 6, global rating agency, Moody’s, confirmed the BA3 ratings of Tata Motors, maintaining a positive outlook, reported PTI. In addition, Moody’s Investors Service stated that it has also confirmed the Ba3 senior unsecured instrument ratings of Tata Motors Ltd (TML). According to Moody’s obligations, ‘Ba’ ratings are considered to have speculative elements and carry a significant credit risk. The modifier ‘3’ signifies a position at the lower end of this generic rating category.
đ Mahindra & Mahindra: Prudential Management and Services Pvt Ltd, a promoter group entity of Mahindra & Mahindra, has begun a secondary sale of the company’s shares, citing the family’s need for liquidity. This was disclosed in a stock exchange filing by the automobile manufacturer on Wednesday. The filing was made in response to a news report about the promoters selling their shares. It stated that following the transfer of PMSL’s shares from the late Keshub Mahindra, the former chairman of M&M who passed away on 12th April 2023, to his family members, the family plans to sell a small portion of M&M shares held by PMSL to meet specific financial needs.
đ Adani Enterprises: Ospree International FZCO, Dubai, a step-down subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has acquired a 100 percent stake in Le MarchĂ© Duty Free SAS (LMDF) for 5,000 euros. LMDF, incorporated for the purpose of operating duty-free business in France, is owned by Atul Ahuja, a sole shareholder who is a promoter of Flemingo Group.
đ IIFL Finance: The exchanges revised the circuit limit for IIFL Finance share price to 10 percent from 20 percent. The stock was locked in a 20 percent lower circuit for two consecutive sessions since the RBI banned the company from issuing gold loans.
đ Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 2,766.75 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 2,149.88 crore worth of stocks on March 6, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das stated in an interview that India’s GDP growth for the current fiscal year ending in March might reach around 8 percent, driven by robust manufacturing and construction activity. The latest data showed a 8.4 percent growth in the last quarter of 2023, prompting the government to revise its estimate for the full fiscal year to 7.6 percent. Das expressed optimism, suggesting a strong possibility of the growth figure approaching 8 percent, citing improving rural demand and continued strength in urban demand.
- US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in comments to US lawmakers, said continued progress on lowering inflation âis not assured” though the central bank still expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate later this year.
- Gold rallied to a fresh record on Wednesday, building on stellar momentum driven mostly by bets for US monetary easing, while auto catalyst palladium popped back above the $1,000 mark for the first time since January 12. Spot gold gained 0.6 percent to $2,139.39 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $2,148.99 earlier in the session. US gold futures rose 0.3 percent to $2,147.60. Silver added 1.2 percent to $23.97.
- Oil prices climbed about 2 percent on Wednesday on a smaller-than-expected build-up in US crude inventories, a big withdrawal from distillate and gasoline stockpiles and remarks by the Federal Reserve chief that he still expects US interest rate cuts this year. Lower interest rates could increase demand for oil by boosting economic growth. Brent futures rose $1.65, or 2 percent, to $83.69 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.07, or 2.7 percent, to $80.22. Brent was on track for its first daily rise in five days.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,438 | 1.7 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,040 | (0.3) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,661 | 0.2 % |
| DAX | 17,717 | 0.1 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,679 | 0.4 % |
| Nikkei | 40,091 | (0.0) % |
| Straits Times | 3,136 | 0.9 % |
