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Mid Session Commentary

Equity benchmarks hit fresh intraday high; auto stocks rise for 2nd day

(14:32, 31 Mar 2023)

The frontline equity indices extended their upswing and hit fresh intraday highs in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded at the 17,350 level. Auto stocks witnessed buying demand for second consecutive session.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 986.27 points or 1.70% to 58,946.36. The Nifty 50 index gained 269.40 points or 1.58% to 17,350.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.14% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.58%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,530 shares rose and 916 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment was upbeat as concerns of further banking turmoil receded. However, markets remained cautious following a higher-than-expected German CPI, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to further tighten monetary policy.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.330 from 7.296 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.22, compared with its close of 82.34 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement advanced 0.06% to Rs 59,350.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.31% to 102.47.

The United States 10-year bond yield jumped 0.85% to 3.581.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement fell 20 cents or 0.25% to $79.07 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.97% to 12,238.90. The index has gained 2.69% in two trading sessions.

Samvardhana Motherson International (up 3.49%), MRF (up 2.56%), Tata Motors (up 2.53%), Bosch (up 2.06%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.68%), Bharat Forge (up 1.27%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.21%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (up 0.71%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.68%) and Eicher Motors (up 0.58%) advanced.

On the other hand, TVS Motor Company (down 0.52%), Tube Investments of India (down 0.14%) and Balkrishna Industries (down 0.11%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin declined 0.92%. The pharmaceutical company on Friday announced that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Tenofovir Alafenamide Tablets, 25 mg.

Maharashtra Seamless advanced 2.67%. The company announced that it has received orders from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) with cumulative basic value of Rs 537 crore for supply of seamless casing pipes.

Westlife Foodworld rallied 3.10%. The company informed that the royalty payable by its subsidiary to McDonald's for FY24 will be 4.5%.