PNC Infratech: The infrastructure company has announced the execution of a concession agreement for a HAM (Hybrid Annuity Mode) project with M.P. Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) for a bid project cost of Rs 1,174 crore. The project will be constructed in 24 months upon the declaration of the appointed date and operated for 15 years post-construction.
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open on a negative note on March 11 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a weak start for the broader index with a loss of 53 points.
The market failed to build on the opening gains and ended a rangebound session on March 7 on a flat note. The benchmark indices scaled fresh all-time highs in the opening trade with the Nifty surpassing 22,500 for the first time.
The BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high of 74,245.17 but ended 33.40 points (0.05 percent) higher at 74,119.39, while Nifty50 index also hit new high of 22,525.65 and closed 19.50 points or 0.09 percent higher at 22,493.50.
For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty rose 0.5 percent each. The market was shut on March 8 on account of Mahashivratri.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may face resistance at 22,502, followed by 22,542 and 22,579 levels. On the lower side, the index is likely to take immediate support at 22,447, followed by 22,424 and 22,387.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.
GIFT Nifty
Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a negative start for the broader index in India, with a loss of 53 points or 0.23 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around the 22,651 level.
Trade setup for today: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell
US Markets
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower on Friday after touching record highs during the session, with high-flying chip stocks going reverse and a mixed labour market report showing more new jobs than expected with a rising unemployment rate.
The S&P and Nasdaq briefly hit intraday record highs but started to lose steam late morning. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, opens new tab sharply underperformed and ended the day down 4 percent after touching an intraday record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.66 points, or 0.18 percent, to 38,722.69, the S&P 500 lost 33.67 points, or 0.65 percent, to 5,123.69 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 188.26 points, or 1.16 percent, to 16,085.11.
Asian Markets
Asian markets fell Monday after Wall Street’s rally took a breather, with artificial intelligence darling Nvidia finishing down more than 5 percent in its worst session since late May.
US job market data bolsters Fed’s ‘no rush’ rate cut view
Federal Reserve policymakers weighing when to start interest-rate cuts got fresh reasons on Friday to remain on standby, after a government report showed robust job growth in February but also signs of labor market cooling that could help the Fed’s battle with inflation.
US employers added 275,000 jobs last month, a Labor Department report showed on Friday, handily beating the 200,000 that economists expected.
Bitcoin rises to record high over $70,000
Bitcoin rallied to a record high on Friday in volatile trade, as crypto mania continued to sweep through the investment community.
The leading cryptocurrency topped the $70,000 mark for the first time, boosted by investor demand for new US spot exchange-traded crypto products and expectations for global interest rates to fall.
India’s forex reserves jump $6.55 bn to $625.63 bn
India’s forex reserves jumped $6.55 billion to $625.626 billion for the week ended March 1, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by $2.975 billion to $619.072 billion.
It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year. For the week ended March 1, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $6.043 billion to $554.231 billion, the data said.
Sebi bars JM Financial from acting as lead manager of any public debt issue
The market regulator has barred JM Financial from taking any new mandate for acting as a lead manager for any public issue of debt securities.
In an interim order, dated March 7, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) stated that JM Financial may continue to act as a lead manager for public issue of debt securities for a period of 60 days from the date of this Order. Sebi has stated that the observations made in the order are based on the material available on record and that the investigation into this matter will be completed in six months.
IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal looks to raise about $450 mn via block deal
IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal plans to sell a 3.3 percent stake in Interglobe Aviation to raise around $450 million, multiple people familiar with the development said on the condition of anonymity. “The offer floor price for the proposed block deal is Rs 2,925 per share with a 5.8 percent discount to the last close price,” one of the people said.
Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are the investment banks advising Gangwal on the transaction, a second person added.
ECB keeps rates on hold with inflation still sticky
The European Central Bank froze interest rates again on Thursday as it held off from starting to cut borrowing costs amid concerns that sticky inflation is not easing as fast as hoped.
The Frankfurt-based institution’s governing council held the benchmark deposit rate steady at a record four percent for a fourth straight meeting, as widely expected.
“Although most measures of underlying inflation have eased further, domestic price pressures remain high, in part owing to strong growth in wages,” said the ECB in a statement.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 7,304.11 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 2,601.81 crore worth of stocks on March 7, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Stock under F&O ban on NSE
The NSE has added Tata Chemicals and SAIL to the F&O ban list for March 11, while retaining Manappuram Finance, Mahanagar Gas, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises on the said list.
Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts cross 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies
