Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 1.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets saw gains on Monday in anticipation of significant economic data releases from China and a series of central bank meetings scheduled for the week ahead. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, experienced a slight dip of 0.1% after a 0.7% decrease last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged by 1.34%, and the Topix index rose by 1.21%. South Korea’s Kospi remained relatively unchanged, while the Kosdaq index climbed by 0.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures suggested a robust opening.
US stock market indices closed lower on Friday, influenced by declines in technology stocks as investors assessed the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for the following week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.49%, the S&P 500 dropped by 0.65%, and the Nasdaq Composite settled with a decline of 0.96%.
Stocks News:
👉 Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC): The government has granted approval for a wage revision for LIC employees, effective from August 1, 2022. This revision entails a 17 percent increase in the wage bill.
👉 JSW Energy: A subsidiary, JSW Neo Energy, has been awarded a Letter of Award (LoA) for an additional 500 MW of wind capacity under the greenshoe option for the SECI wind power projects (Tranche XVI). Consequently, the total capacity allotted to JSW Neo under SECI Tranche XVI now stands at 1,000 MW.
👉 SJVN: Subsidiary SJVN Green Energy (SGEL) has received the Letter of Intent (LOI) from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) for a 200 MW solar project in GUVNL Phase XXIII. The tentative cost of construction and development for this project is Rs 1,100 crore.
👉 RailTel Corporation of India: The company has secured a work order from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for the supply, installation, testing, commissioning, operations, and maintenance of HMIS (health management information system) for the Health Department of BMC, valued at Rs 351.95 crore. Additionally, RailTel has received another work order worth Rs 130.6 crore from the State Project Director (Spd) of the Bihar Education Project Council (Bepc). This order encompasses the appointment of an agency for the supply of teaching and learning material for classes I through V under a rate contract.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 848.56 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 682.26 crore worth of stocks on March 15, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- The Election Commission, in a media briefing held in the national capital, announced that the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 will be conducted in seven phases spanning from April 19 to June 1, with vote counting slated for June 4. The schedule reveals that 22 states will hold elections in a single phase, while three states will witness polling across all phases. Notably, no state will undergo voting across six phases.
- India’s merchandise trade deficit expanded to $18.71 billion in February compared to $17.49 billion in January, according to the commerce ministry’s statement on March 15. In February 2023, the trade deficit was recorded at $16.57 billion. Despite the widening trade deficit in February, exports surged by 11.9 percent to $41.40 billion compared to the same period last year, while imports rose by 12.2 percent to $60.11 billion.
- The US Treasury yield experienced an ascent to its highest level in three weeks. The yields on the benchmark 10-year notes rose by 1.4 basis points (bps) to 4.315%, marking their peak since February 22. Meanwhile, the two-year yields climbed to 4.723%, reflecting a 24-basis-point increase over the previous week.
- Oil prices retreated on Friday, following a surge that saw them surpass $85 a barrel for the first time since November. Despite this dip, prices were anticipated to conclude the week with a gain of over 3 percent, driven by heightened demand from U.S. refiners who were completing planned maintenance overhauls.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,721 | (1.4) % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,055 | 0.5 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,715 | (0.5) % |
| DAX | 17,937 | (0.0) % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,727 | (0.2) % |
| Nikkei | 38,708 | (0.3) % |
| Straits Times | 3,173 | (0.4) % |
