Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 32.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets exhibited a mixed performance on Friday, influenced by an overnight surge on Wall Street and the unveiling of Japan’s inflation figures. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged by 0.55%, reaching a new all-time peak, surpassing the 41,000 mark, whereas the Topix climbed by 0.42% to achieve a fresh high. Conversely, South Korea’s Kospi experienced a minor dip of 0.12%, and the Kosdaq retreated by 0.23%. Expectations for a subdued start were signaled by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures.
On Thursday, the US stock market indexes achieved unprecedented closing peaks fueled by optimism following the Federal Reserve’s reassuring stance on potential rate cuts in the current year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 269.24 points, marking a gain of 0.68%, closing at 39,781.37, while the S&P 500 climbed by 16.91 points, representing a rise of 0.32%, reaching 5,241.53. Concurrently, the Nasdaq Composite finished 32.43 points higher, or 0.20%, settling at 16,401.84.
Stocks News:
đ Tata Communications: The board of directors has approved the initiation of a business transfer agreement to transfer its newly identified digital services business to its wholly owned subsidiary, Novamesh, as a going concern through a slump sale, valued at Rs 458 crore.
đ Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: The Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) has granted a long-term lease of 14.55 acres of land and buildings (including workshop land and clark basin) adjacent to the MDL Mumbai Yard to Mazagon Dock for 29 years, commencing from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2053. The total cost for this allocation amounts to Rs 354 crore.
đ Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency: The company has announced that a board meeting is scheduled for March 28 to deliberate on a borrowing program of up to Rs 24,200 crore for the fiscal year 2024â25. This borrowing plan encompasses raising funds through the issuance of bonds, term loans, commercial paper, etc., from both domestic and international markets.
đ Wipro: Wipro IT Services LLC, a subsidiary of Wipro, has partnered with General Motors and Magna International to establish a new entity named SDVerse LLC. This transaction was finalized on March 20.
đ Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,826.97 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 3,208.87 crore worth of stocks on March 21, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- S&P Global reported a slight decrease in its flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which monitors both manufacturing and services sectors, dropping to 52.2 this month from 52.5 in February. Manufacturing saw expansion, with the survey’s flash manufacturing PMI climbing to 52.5 this month, the highest level since June 2022, compared to 52.2 in February, as per Reuters. However, the survey’s flash services sector PMI declined to 51.7 in March from 52.3 in the previous month.
- The Bank of England opted to maintain interest rates at 5.25% for the fifth consecutive meeting on Thursday. The BoE’s committee of interest rate-setters voted 8-1 to uphold borrowing costs at their 16-year peak of 5.25%. Despite expectations, most economists surveyed by Reuters anticipated only one member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to persist in advocating for a Bank Rate increase.
- In Japan, core inflation accelerated in January, marking the fastest pace in four months. The core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh foods, increased by 2.8% in February compared to the previous year, up from a 2.0% rise in January.
- Oil prices sank in early Asian trading on Friday on the possibility of a nearing Gaza ceasefire, which could loosen global supply, at the same time a stronger U.S. dollar and faltering gasoline dampened demand sentiment. Brent crude futures fell 18 cents to $85.60 a barrel by 0011 GMT. U.S. crude futures shed 19 cents to $80.88 per barrel.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,863 | 1.9 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,077 | (0.1) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 39,781 | 0.7 % |
| DAX | 18,179 | 0.9 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,883 | 1.9 % |
| Nikkei | 40,816 | 2.0 % |
| Straits Times | 3,220 | 1.4 % |
