Market Commentary - Quick Review
The key equity indices ended with significant gains on Thursday, rising for the second consecutive session. The Nifty ended above the 22,500 level. Barring the Nifty Realty index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty50 F&O series expiry today.
As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 609.86 points, or 0.83%, to 74,349.09. The Nifty 50 index added 207.40 points, or 0.93%, to 22,544.70.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.65%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.63%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 3,002 shares rose and 993 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.40% to 13.73.
Politics:
The BJP secured two out of three Member of Legislative Council (MLC) seats in Telangana, winning the prestigious Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Graduates constituency. BJP's Chinnamile Anji Reddy triumphed by a margin of 5,106 votes after the second-preference count of votes. He received a total of 98,637 votes, while his immediate Congress rival V Narender Reddy got 93,531.
Union minister Bandi Sanjay cited the BJP's extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.
A day before, the BJP and Progressive Recognized Teachers Union (PRTU) had bagged one each of the two teachers' MLC seats for which elections were held. M Komaraiah of the BJP bagged the Medak-Nizamabad-Karimnagar-Adilabad teachers' MLC seat while PRTU candidate P. Sripal Reddy won the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam teachers' constituency.
Meanwhile, celebrations erupted among BJP supporters in Karimnagar, with Central Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and party workers gathering in a victory rally. He hailed the win as a 'Ramzan gift' to the Congress and declared that the BJP has firmly established itself as a formidable alternative in Telangana. He said the BJP's extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Oil & Gas index added 2.49% to 10,045.85. The index rallied 4.46% in three consecutive trading sessions.
Castrol India (up 10.16%), Mahanagar Gas (up 4.15%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 3.82%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 3.65%), Reliance Industries (up 3.12%), Indraprastha Gas (up 3.03%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 2.89%), Gujarat Gas (up 1.81%), GAIL (India) (up 1.61%), and Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 1.54%) added.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Axiscades Technologies hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company's subsidiary, Mistral Solutions Private, announced a strategic partnership with Altera (an Intel Company) to accelerate defense technology innovation.
GHV Infra Projects hit an upper circuit of 2% after the company announced that it has received an order from GHV (India) worth Rs 363 crore for setting up a solar power project on an EPC basis.
OM Infra soared 8.33% after the company announced that it has secured two significant water supply infrastructure projects worth Rs 448 crore from Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural).
The first project, valued at Rs 106.10 crore, is for the Moradabad Circle, covering the districts of Amroha and Sambhal. The second contract, worth Rs 342 crore, pertains to the Lucknow Circle, which includes the districts of Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, and Lucknow.
Lakshya Powertech hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company secured an order worth Rs 5 crore from Euroteck Environmental for testing & commissioning support services for WTP projects.
Hindustan Zinc added 3.83% after the company's board is scheduled to meet on 10th March 2025 to consider raising funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
Hexaware Technologies rose 1.34% after the company announced a new collaboration with the San Francisco Unicorns, a team in Major League Cricket.
Cellecor Gadgets rose 5.46% after the company said it is partnering with Zepto to enable rapid delivery of Cellecor products through Zepto's platform.
Global Markets:
Most European markets declined on Thursday as investors monitored further earnings releases and U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariff exemption.
Investors awaited the European Central Bank, which is widely expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% amid an easing in eurozone inflation in recent months. Regional markets will be keeping an eye on policymakers' comments on the region's economic and inflation outlook, given the potential for trade tariffs to be imposed on the EU by the Trump administration.
Most Asian stocks ended higher as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers.
South Korea's consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than the expected 1.95% increase and slower than the 2.2% gain in January. It also affords more room for South Korea's central bank to cut rates further as the country struggles with a slowing economy.
The White House confirmed the postponement, with press spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating that Trump remains open to further tariff exemptions after discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In Asia, key economic data releases include unemployment figures from the Philippines, inflation updates from Vietnam, and Malaysia's interest rate decision. Later in the day, both the European Central Bank and Turkey's central bank will announce their own rate decisions.
On the U.S. economic front, initial jobless claims data is due ahead of Friday's critical monthly payrolls report.
U.S. stocks surged Wednesday after Trump's decision to grant automakers a temporary exemption from the newly imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.1% higher on Wednesday, ending a two-day losing streak. The S&P 500 also advanced by 1.1%, while the NASDAQ Composite climbed 1.5%.
Shares of major automakers jumped, with General Motors advancing 7.2% and Ford climbing 5.8%. Stellantis NV shares surged 9.2%, while US-listed Toyota Motor shares jumped 6.5%.
Adding to market optimism, fresh data showed unexpected strength in the U.S. services sector. The ISM Services PMI rose to 53.5 in February from 52.8 in January, beating forecasts and signaling resilience in economic activity.
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