Indian markets expected to open on a positive note, Stock exchanges freeze Patanjali Foods shares, Indian Oil to raise capacity

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is up by 51 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar as fear of a banking crisis was reignited by fresh troubles at Credit Suisse, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. The Japanese Nikkei is down by 1.24 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down by 1.49 percent and South Korea’s Kospi is down by 0.14 percent in early morning deals.

US stocks pared losses late on Wednesday but the Dow and S&P 500 still closed lower, as problems at Credit Suisse revived fears of a banking crisis, eclipsing bets on a smaller US rate hike this month. The S&P 500 lost 0.70 percent and Nasdaq Composite added 0.05 percent respectively.

Stocks News:

?The stock exchanges have put a freeze on 292.58 million shares of promoter group entities of Patanjali Foods Ltd for not meeting the minimum public shareholding norm within the stipulated deadline.

?Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, said on Wednesday it aims to raise its renewable energy portfolio to 200 gigawatts (GW) by 2050 from the current 239 megawatts, to help it achieve its 2046 net-zero goal.

?KPI Green Energy has received commissioning certificates from Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) for capacity of 31 MWdc solar power project under captive power producer (CPP) segment of the company.

?Vedanta Ltd said that it has repaid $100 million to Standard Chartered Bank through release of encumbrance on March 10.

?Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,271.25 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 1,823.94 crore on March 15, the National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed.

Domestic and International Events

• Oil prices plunged by nearly 5 percent on Wednesday to settle at the lowest levels in more than a year on concerns that a crisis of confidence in the banking sector could trigger a recession and cut demand.
• India’s trade deficit came in at $17.43 billion in February 2023, which is narrower as compared to $18.75 billion in the year-ago period, as per the official data released on March 15. The numbers are also marginally lower as compared to the preceding month, as the trade deficit stood at $17.76 billion in January 2023.
• JPMorgan’s strategists ratcheted up the investment bank’s “underweight” recommendation on equities on Wednesday and urged switching into cash following the market rout caused by Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.
• US retail sales and wholesale prices slipped in February, according to government data released Wednesday, providing some respite for policymakers as the central bank prepares for a crucial interest rate decision next week. The Federal Reserve has embarked on an aggressive campaign to tackle inflation, and initially signaled it could step up the pace of rate hikes while the world’s biggest economy ran hotter-than-hoped.

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