Stock Market LIVE Updates: US, Asian markets gain; GIFT Nifty indicates a positive start

Government is likely to sell up to 7 percent stake in NLC India through offer for sale (OFS) to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore-Rs 2,100 crore, sources told CNBC-Awaaz on March 6.

The channel reported that government is looking to sell up to 5 percent stake in the state-owned firm with an option to exercise greenshoe option to sell an additional 2 percent stake.

Department of Investment and Public Asset Management and government officials will soon take a decision regarding this, said CNBC-Awaaz. Read More

The Nifty opened on a weak note and witnessed a sharp decline during the first half while an equally sharp recovery in the second half helped the Nifty to close with handsome gains of 117 points. Intraday the Nifty recovered 250 points from the lowest point. The hourly moving averages placed in the zone 22360 – 22287 provided a strong support and the Nifty recovered sharply. We expect Nifty to continue with the upmove as the hourly momentum indicator has provided a fresh crossover which is a bullish sign. The immediate target is placed at 22600 – 22650. Today’s low of 22224 shall act as crucial support level and can also be used as a trialing stoploss for the long positions.

Bank Nifty has clearly been the leader during this rally, and we expect the momentum to continue. Dips towards 47800 – 47680 should be used as a buying opportunity. The Bank Nifty is likely to retest the previous all-time high of 48636.

The broader market i.e. Midcap and Smallcap Index though closed in the negative have recovered sharply. Crucial support zone for Midcap Index is placed at 48100 – 48000 and for the small cap index is placed at 15200 – 15100.

-Set-up looks good, although valuation multiples are heady

-Stick with key calls on TCS/Infosys where growth visibility is highest

-Margin expectations for TCS & Infosys appear reasonable

-Overweight call on TCS, target raised to Rs 4,600 per share

-Overweight call on Infosys, target raised to Rs 1,820 per share

-Equal-weight call on HCL Tech, target raised to Rs 1,750 per share

-Overweight on Cyient, target cut to Rs 2,450 per share

-Overweight on Coforge, traget raised to Rs 7,450 per share

-Equal-weight on LTIMIndtree, target cut to Rs 5,700 per share

The U.S. dollar eased on Thursday and hit a one-month low against the yen as traders zeroed in on the idea that U.S. interest rates were likely to fall this year even after some upside surprises on inflation.

In a significant move targeting several major players in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has initiated actions against FMCG companies including ITC, Prataap Snacks, PepsiCo, Balaji Wafers, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, and others for alleged tax evasion.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the DGGI has escalated its crackdown on nearly 10-12 FMCG companies, citing issues related to classification leading to alleged tax evasion. “The DGGI has sent notices and investigation intimation letters to FMCG companies for paying a lower rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on products coming under the head of — extruded snacks and fried pellet snacks,” sources said.

The government had, in 2023, clarified that any snacks that have been prepared by extrusion process should attract 18% and not 12% as is being paid by the industry currently. Extrusion is a technique to create ready-to-eat puffed snacks. Read More

Gold rallied to a fresh record on Wednesday, building on stellar momentum driven mostly by bets for U.S. monetary easing, while autocatalyst palladium popped back above the $1,000 mark for the first time since Jan. 12.

Spot gold gained 0.6% to $2,139.39 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $2,148.99 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,147.60.

Silver added 1.2% to $23.97.

Oil prices ticked higher on Thursday after U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected last week and fuel stocks saw large draws.

Brent crude futures rose 15 cents to $83.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 18 cents to $79.31 a barrel.

Adani Enterprises on March 6 informed the bourses that its Dubai-based arm, Ospree International FZCO, has acquired a 100 percent stake in France-based Le Marche Duty Free SAS (LMDF) for 5,000 euros.

LMDF was incorporated in France on February 7, 2024, for the purpose of operating duty free business in the country. The company is yet to commence operations.

Atul Ahuja, who is promoter of Flemingo Group, is the owner of LMDF. Adani said it has acquired 5,000 shares of LMDF having a nominal face value of one euro each from Ahuja, who is the sole shareholder.

The acquisition is of “strategic nature” in the interest of Mumbai Travel Retail Private Ltd (MTRPL), a step-down subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, the exchange filing added. Read More

Extreme volatility was seen in yesterday’s trade with the morning session being dominated by bears and a steep fall in the Mid and Smallcap segments that further dented the market sentiments. Banking stocks led the rally in the 2nd half of the trading session providing support to the Index to recover and also a fierce recovery in the heavyweights addtionally fueled the rally which resulted in a new high and finally, the Index settled the day at 22,474.05 with gains of 117.75 points.

Among the sectors, BankNifty was the top gainer followed by IT while Media remained a laggard. Mid and Smallcaps also recovered but underperformed the Benchmark Index by correcting 0.52% & 1.96% respectively.

On the daily chart, the Index defended its support of 22,300 and formed a bullish engulfing pattern. We continue to hold our positive stance for the target of 22,600-22,650 while a level of 22,300 will remain a strong support point.