The frontline indices traded with modest losses in afternoon trade as the markets experienced volatility. The Nifty traded below the 23,600 level after hitting the day's high of 23,736.50 in early trade. Media, private bank and healthcare shares declined while auto, consumer durables and auto shares advanced.
At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 467.73 points or 0.61% to 77,545.01. The Nifty 50 index lost 106.25 points or 0.45% to 23,562.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.16% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,099 shares rose and 2,818 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
IndusInd Bank (up 3.45%), Trent (up 2.99%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.67%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.08%) and Bharat Electronics (up 0.89%) were the major Nifty gainers.
Axis Bank (down 2.40%), Tech Mahindra (down 2.33%), NTPC (down 2.15%), Cipla (down 1.85%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.78%) were the major Nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shed 0.28%. The company announced that its hydrocarbon business, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH), has secured its largest-ever Ultra-Mega offshore contract from QatarEnergy LNG for the North Field Production Sustainability Offshore Compression Project.
RPP Infra Projects advanced 2.45% after the company announced that it has entered into an agreement worth Rs 75 crore to acquire 120 acres of land in proximity to the proposed new Chennai Airport..
Bajaj Steel Industries declined 1.28%. The company said that it has received an export order worth about Rs 43 crore ($5.03 million) from an international client.
Atishay hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that it has secured a new work order worth Rs 29.60 lakhs for providing cloud hosting services from the Directorate of Cooperation, Himachal Pradesh.
Welspun Enterprises shed 0.57%. The company informed that its material subsidiary, Welspun Michigan Engineers (WMEL), along with its joint venture with Aaradhyaa & Co (WMEL-ANC JV), has bagged an order worth Rs 328.12 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Ultracab (India) added 0.09% The company announced that it has received a significant contract worth Rs 9.70 crore from Adani Electricity Mumbai for the supply of LT PVC cables.
NCC rallied 3.30% after the firm secured two advance work orders worth Rs 10,804.56 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) for the middle-mile network of BharatNet in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Global Markets:
European shares rose on Wednesday after U.K. inflation eased to 2.8% in February, down from 3% in January. Investors are also awaiting the “Spring Statement” from U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who is expected to announce significant spending cuts to address a budget shortfall caused by rising borrowing costs.
Most Asian stocks advanced as concerns eased over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned trade tariffs.
Japanese shares pared early gains after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda warned of further interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, Japan’s corporate services price index—a key measure of producer inflation—came in slightly cooler than expected for February but remained sticky at 3%, data showed on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, U.S. indices advanced on Tuesday, driven primarily by gains in heavyweight technology stocks. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to 5,776.62, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.5% to 18,271.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher to 42,587.50, marking a third consecutive day of gains for all three indexes.
Tesla Inc climbed over 3% despite data showing a second straight month of declining European sales. Meanwhile, GameStop Corp surged 8% in after-hours trading following its management’s approval of a plan to invest excess cash in Bitcoin.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 92.9 down from an upward revised 100.1 in the prior month amid ongoing concerns about a tariff-induced slowdown.
Trump’s proposed tariffs remained in focus ahead of an April 2 announcement on additional trade measures. Reports indicating that the tariffs may be less severe than initially feared helped boost Wall Street sentiment this week. However, the 47th President reiterated his stance on imposing duties on automobile imports and signaled upcoming tariffs on lumber and semiconductors. Next week, he is expected to unveil reciprocal tariffs on around 15 major U.S. trading partners, though the full scope and impact remain uncertain.