Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close At Its Highest Levels In Three Weeks As Banking, I.T. Stocks Lead

Foreign investors in Indian equities remained net buyers for the third day in a row on Friday.

Foreign portfolio investors bagged stocks worth Rs 357.86 crore in net terms, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors kept buying for a second day, raking in stocks worth Rs 2,479.96 crore, NSE data showed. They had snapped a 13-day buying streak on Tuesday.

Foreign institutions invested in Indian equities have remained net sellers so far in 2023, offloading equities worth around Rs 50,557.63 crore.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed 2 bps higher at 7.31% on Friday. It closed at 7.29% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The rupee strengthened by 16 paise to close at 82.18 against the greenback on Friday.

• It closed at 82.34 on Wednesday.
  Source: Bloomberg

The headline indices snapped three weeks of declines to rise the most in 23 weeks or five months since Oct. 21 week. Nifty logged weekly gains of 2.45%, whereas Sensex advanced 2.55% in trade this week.

Indices ended lower in trade lask week, Sensex declined 0.80%, and Nifty was down 0.91%.

All the sectors advanced in trade this week with Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Bank and Nifty IT being the top gainers.

Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZZ Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., and Adani Green Energy Ltd. declined amongst the Adani group company stocks, whereas Adani Enterprises ended the day 0.6% higher.

The broader market indices ended higher; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.96% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 1.35%.

All the 19 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, with S&P BSE Information Technology, S&P BSE Teck, and S&P BSE Bankex gaining the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,383 stocks rose 1,173 declined, and 124 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Tata Motors Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., State Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the change.

Whereas, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd., and Bajaj Finance Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

Indian equity benchmarks rallied in trade on Friday to end the week on a positive note as banking and I.T. services shares led the surge. The S&P BSE Sensex Index and NSE Nifty 50 Index closed at their highest levels for the first time in three weeks since March 10, 2023.

Intraday, the benchmarks rose the most in over four months Nov. 11, 2022. However, over the past one year S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.72% while the Nifty 50 index declined 0.60% in the financial year 2022-2023.

On a weekly basis, the headline indices snapped three weeks of declines to rise the most in eight months since mid-July.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index turned positive for the month after three consecutive months of decline. Additionally, the NSE Nifty Bank Index rose the most in four months since November 2022, following three consecutive months of decline.

Asian and European markets rose and the U.S. equity futures were steady as a gauge of global shares headed for a second-straight quarterly gain, underscoring investor optimism in the face of banking turmoil and elevated interest rates.

Consumer goods and food and beverage stocks outperformed and banks retreated as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index struggled for direction. Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed as were those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, after the underlying gauge rose 0.9% overnight, pushing further into a bull market.

Technology shares led the charge globally this quarter, surging 19%, the most since mid 2020. The upbeat tone has been on display this week, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.6% Thursday in its third increase in four days.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index closed up 1,032 points or 1.78% at 58,991.52 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was higher by 279 points or 1.63% at 17,359.75.

Stocks hitting 52-week low intraday amongst the NSE Nifty 500 constituents.

Shares of Sonata Software Ltd. rose 10.42% to Rs 830 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.65%.

The stock rose as much as 12.15% intraday, the most in over six months since Sept. 8, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 3.6 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 61.4.

Out of the six analysts tracking the company, four maintain a 'buy' rating and two recommend a 'hold' on the stock, as per the Bloomberg data.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at a downside of 4.6% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of sugar companies advanced in trade on Friday. Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd., Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd., Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Ltd., Dharani Sugars and Chemical Ltd., and Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd. advanced in trade.

Source: Bloomberg

Indian equity benchmarks rose in trade following positive global moves led by technology and banking stocks.

Asian markets rose and U.S. equity futures ticked as a gauge of global shares headed for a second-straight quarterly gain, underscoring investor optimism in the face of banking turmoil and elevated interest rates.

Technology shares led the charge this quarter, surging 19%, the most since mid 2020. The upbeat tone has been on display this week, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.6% Thursday in its third increase in four days. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% overnight, pushing further into a bull market.

As of 1:34 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 898 points or 1.55% at 58,857.94 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was higher by 243 points or 1.42% at 17,323.45.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index turned positive for the month intraday after three consecutive months of decline.

The NSE Nifty Bank Index rose the most in four months since November 2022, following three consecutive months of decline.

Nestle India Ltd., State Bank of India, HCL Technologies Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the change.

Whereas, Bajaj Finance Ltd., Titan Co., Asian Paints Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

All Adani Group Company stocks advance in trade with Adani Enterprises up by 2% and NDTV Ltd. gaining the most at 5.23%, respectively.

The broader market indices were trading higher; S&P BSE MidCap was up 1.05% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 1.48%.

All the 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, with S&P BSE Information Technology, S&P BSE Teck, and S&P BSE Bankex gaining the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,517 stocks rose 906 declined, and 124 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. rose in trade as the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai gave its initial nod to the spin off the financial services business of the company.

The new financial arm, Reliance Strategic Investments Ltd., will be later renamed to Jio Financial Services. The court has called for a meeting of the shareholders of Reliance on May 2.

Under the proposed scheme, the shareholding of Jio Financial Services will mirror that of Reliance Industries. Each shareholder will get one share of Jio Financial Services for every single share held in Reliance Industries.

Reliance Industries had approved a scheme for the demerger of its financial services business in October last year.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. rose 3.82% to Rs 2,320 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.21%.

The stock rose as much as 3.86% intraday, the most in over four months since Nov. 28, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 1.8 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 52.7.

Out of the 37 analysts tracking the company, 32 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and two suggest to 'sell' the stock, as per the Bloomberg data.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 22.9% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. declined by 23% to Rs 92.9 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.15%.

The company's shares turn ex-date for demerger. SCI has announced to demerge its non-shipping business into a separate entity. The Mumbai headquartered company operates and manages vessels servicing.

The stock declined as much as 26.27 intraday. Total traded volume stood at 0.9 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 26, implying that stocks maybe oversold.

Out analyst tracking the company maintain as hold on the stock.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. rose by 2.37% to Rs 73.55 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.12%.

The company received an LoA from Ministry of Railways for manufacturing and maintenance of Vande Bharat trainsets including upgradation of the government manufacturing units and trainset depots. The total quantity is 200 trainsets and cost per set of Rs 120-crore. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited share will be 25% and period of execution is 82 months.

The stock advanced as much as 5.43% intraday, the most in over four months since Nov. 23, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 1.1 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 58.

Out of the two analysts tracking the company, 10 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and three suggest to 'sell' the stock.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• The interbank call money rates jumped to 8.05%, which is the highest since April 2019 when it touched 9.45%.

• The Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate stood at 6.50.

Source: Cogencis

Shares of Jain Irrigation Ltd. were trading higher by 3.80% to Rs 34.15 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 0.97%.

The stock advanced as much as 8.97% intraday.

Total traded volume stood at 4.7 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 62.3.

Jain Irrigation Ltd.'s unit has close the transaction to merge its international irrigation business with Rivulis. Jain International Trading B.V. is a subsidiary of Jain Irrigation and the corporate brand of the combined company will be “Rivulis – In alliance with Jain International” or “MergeCo”

By virtue of this cash and stock transaction Jain Irrigation Ltd.'s consolidated net debt will be reduced by 44% or Rs 2,800-crore to Rs 3,615-crore. December 31, 2022 debt was INR 6,415 crore post transaction debt will be down to INR 3,615 crore. 

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. gained after Jefferies initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy rating, betting on its strong franchise in credit cards.

"SBI Cards should gain share in card spends, as scope to increase penetration within SBI's large customer base is large," the brokerage said. It added that credit card to debit cards ratio is 14% below peer average of 29% and penetration within SBI's addressable customer pool is only 6%.

The brokerage initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating and price target of Rs 900, implying a potential upside of 27%.

The scrip was trading 1.39% higher at Rs 730.15, as compared to 1.05% gain in benchmark Nifty 50 as of 10:13 a.m.

Of the 29 analysts tracking the stock, 22 maintained 'buy', four recommended 'hold', while three analysts suggested 'sell', according to Bloomberg. The 12-month consensus price target implies a potential upside of 28.7%.

• The power transmission and distribution business has secured orders to establish gas insulated substations in renewable energy zones of Khavda in Gujarat and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.

• It has also won an order to develop distribution infrastructure in two circles of Rajasthan’s prominent discom.

• As per project classification by the company, 'significant' orders range between Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Vedanta Ltd. were trading lower by 0.09% to Rs 281.5 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.09%.

The stock advanced as much as 1.15% intraday before shedding the gains.

Vedanta Ltd. has 0.5% or 2.03 core equity shares change hands in four bunched trade.

Total traded volume stood at six time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 46.4.

Out of the 16 analysts tracking the company, 10 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and three suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 26.8% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of 360 One Wam Ltd. dropped 5.27% to Rs 415.5 apiece in trade on Friday compared to the advance in the benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index by 1.16%.

This was triggered y a negative news from online brokers as SEBI after its board meet announced that the surplus funds received by the stock brokers from clients are withdraw-able by clients on an immediate basis. Therefore, these should be deposited with the CC on “as is” basis rather than the broker converting them into a bank guarantee or fixed deposit receipts for placing with CC. Investor funds in surplus of exchange margin requirements may in turn be placed by CCs in very low-risk and liquid overnight money market instruments. This has an impact on the flaot income of online brokers.

The stock declined as much as 7.67% intraday, the most in three months since Jan. 30, 2023.

Total traded volume stood at 7.2 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 40. Five analysts tracking the company maintain a 'buy' rating on the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 33.7% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Shriram Properties Ltd. rose 8.75% to Rs 60.25 apiece in trade on Friday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 1.14%.

The scrip had 14.3% or 2.43 crore equity shares change hands in a bunched trade according to Bloomberg data.

The stock rose as much as 11.91% intraday, the most in over seven months since August 17, 2022.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of defence stocks rose in trade on Friday morning as four companies won large order from the Ministry of Defense,

Bharat Dynamics Ltd. signed a contract for Rs 8,161-crore with the Ministry of Defence for production and supply of Akash Weapon System to the Indian Army. The contract is signed for two regiments of the Indian Army and it is to be executed in three years. Company also received an order of Rs 261 Crore for CMDS for MLH Helicopters.

The Ministry of Defence signed two contracts with Bharat Electronics Ltd. jointly worth Rs 2,394 crore. The first contract worth Rs 1,982 crore is for procurement of automated air defence control and reporting system ‘Project Akashteer’ for Indian Army. The second contract of Rs 412 is for acquisition of Sarang electronic support measure systems and associated engineering support package for Indian Navy.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd. emerged as the lowest bidder in the tender floated for construction of six "Next Generation Missile Vessels". Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth Rs 9,804.98-crore with the company. The first vessel is to be delivered in 48 months and the last vessel is to be delivered within 108 months.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for construction of four next generation offshore patrol vessels. Total cost of the project is around Rs. 3,500-crore. The first vessel is to be delivered within 44 months from contract signing and subsequent vessels at at interval of six months.

All Adani Group Company stocks advance in trade with Adani Enterprises up 2.5% in early trade on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

The broader market indices were trading higher; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.80% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 1.06%.

All the 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, with S&P BSE Utilities, S&P BSE Information Technology and S&P BSE Teck gaining the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,101 stocks rose 473 declined, and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Source: BSE

Adani Enterprises Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., and Nestle India Ltd. were the top gainers in the NSE Nifty 50 gauge.

Asian Paints Ltd., ITC Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Bajaj Auto Ltd. were the top losers.

Indian equity benchmarks rose on the last day of the quarter as Nifty scaled 17,200 mark and Sensex opened above 58,000 level in early trade.

Asian markets rose with the U.S. and European equity futures, as a gauge of global shares headed for a second-straight quarterly gain, underscoring investor optimism in the face of banking turmoil and elevated interest rates. The Topix index slightly pared its gains after Japan announced it would impose new restrictions on chip exports.

Technology shares led global stocks this quarter, surging 19%, the most since mid 2020. The upbeat tone has been on display this week, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.6% Thursday in its third advance in four days. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% overnight, pushing further into a bull market.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 314 points or 0.54% at 58,273.86 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was higher by 130 points or 0.76% at 17,210.35.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 314 points or 0.54% at 58,273.86 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was higher by 130 points or 0.76% at 17,210.35

Source: Bloomberg

Yield on the 10-year bond was flat at 7.29% in early trade on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency strengthened about 22 paise to open at 82.12 against the greenback on Friday. It closed at 82.34 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• Nxtra Data acquired 5.464% additional stake in Avaada MHAmravati, a special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Power Plant.

• The subsidiary of Bharti Airtel acquired 23.9 lakh equity shares of face value Rs 10 each at an amount aggregating to Rs 2.39 crore.

• The company had acquired 11.7% stake in the company at Rs 5.11 crore in June 2022.

Source: Exchange filing

• VA Tech Wabag with joint venture partner Metito Overseas Ltd. wins a seawater reverse osmosis project from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

• The project worth Rs 4,400-crore will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency.

• The design, build, and operate order entails the desalination of 400 million litres of seawater per day for an intake of 42 months followed by 20 years of operation and maintenance.

• This project will be the largest desalination plant in the South East Asian Region after completion.

Source: Exchange filing

• U.S. Dollar Index at 102.2

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.56%

• Brent crude up 0.19% to $79.42 per barrel

• Nymex crude at $74.50 per barrel

• SGX Nifty down 0.04% at 17,252.5 as of 7:42 a.m.

• Bitcoin down 0.13% at $28,114.35

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries: Promoter group Aditya Medisales released a pledge of 59.90 lakh shares March 27.

• Sunteck: Promoter Matrabhav Trust bought 10,000 shares on March 27.

• Jai Corp: Promoter Ankit Jain bought 26,154 shares on March 27.

• Filatex India: Promoter group Janus Infrastructure Projects bought 1.25 lakh shares on March 27.

• HCL Technologies: Promoter Vama Sundari Investments Delhi bought 1.72 lakh shares on March 23.

• Sobha: Promoter Puthan N C Menon bought 50,000 shares on March 28.

• Time Technoplast: Promoter Time Securities Services bought 3,01 lakh shares on March 28.

• Motilal Oswal Financial Services: Promoter and director Raamdeo Ramgopal Agarawal bought 1.26 lakh shares, promoter and director Motilal Gopilal Oswal bought 1.31 lakh shares between March 27-28.

• Dollar Industries: Promoter group V.K. Mercantile bought 31,594 shares on March 27.

• MTAR Technologies: Promoter Saranya Loka Reddy sold 59,643 shares on March 27.

• Veranda Learning Solutions: Promoter Kalpathi Suresh bought 69,000 shares between March 27-28

• Price Band Revised From 20% To 10%: Brightcom Group

• Price Band Revised From 20% To 5%: Shipping Corporation of India

• Price Band Revised From 0% To 20%: Firstsource Solutions, Torrent Power

• Ex-Date Interim Dividend: Angel One, Indraprastha Gas, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries

• Record Date Interim Dividend: Angel One, Indraprastha Gas,Dwarikesh Sugar Industries

• Ex-Date Final Dividend: Crisil

• Ex-Date Buy Back of Shares: Godawari Power & Ispat

• Record Date Buy Back of Shares: Godawari Power & Ispat

• Ex-Date Spin Off: Shipping Corporation Of India

• Record Date Spin Off: Shipping Corporation Of India

• Move Into Short-Term ASM Framework: GRM Overseas

• Quess Corp: Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) bought 66 lakh shares (4.45%) at Rs 384.99 apiece, Smallcap World Fund Inc. sold 28.46 lakh shares (1.92%) at Rs 385 apiece, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund sold 11.36 lakh shares (0.77%) at Rs 383.79 apiece, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company sold 13.49 lakh shares (0.91%) at Rs 385 apiece.

• Brightcom Group: Indiabulls Housing Finance sold 1.89 crore shares (0.94%) at Rs 13.88 apiece.

• Max Financial Services: Plutus Wealth Management bought 30 lakh shares (0.87%), Max Ventures Investment Holdings sold 30 lakh shares (0.87%) at Rs 606.6 apiece.

• Inox Wind: Aryavardhan Trading bought 15 lakh shares (0.53%), Devansh Trademart sold 15 lakh shares (0.53%) at Rs 94.9 apiece.

• Bharat Dynamics: Signed a contract for Rs 8,161-crore with the Ministry of Defence for production and supply of Akash Weapon System to the Indian Army. The contract is signed for two regiments of the Indian Army and it is to be executed in three years. Company also received an order of Rs 261 Crore for CMDS for MLH Helicopters.

• Rail Vikas Nigam: Received LoA from Ministry of Railways for manufacturing and maintenance of Vande Bharat trainsets including upgradation of the government manufacturing units and trainset depots. The total quantity is 200 trainsets and cost per set of Rs 120-crore. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited share will be 25% and period of execution is 82 months.

• Hero MotoCorp: Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd. on Thursday said it has elevated Niranjan Gupta as its new chief executive officer. Gupta, currently designated as chief financial officer, head-strategy and M&A, takes over as the CEO with effect from May 1, 2023, according to an exchange filing. Pawan Munjal will continue as executive chairman and whole-time director on the company's board, it added.

• Bharat Electronics: The Ministry of Defence signed two contracts with the company jointly worth Rs 2,394 crore. The first contract worth Rs 1,982 crore is for procurement of automated air defence control and reporting system ‘Project Akashteer’ for Indian Army. The second contract of Rs 412 is for acquisition of Sarang electronic support measure systems and associated engineering support package for Indian Navy.

• GR Infraprojects: The company has been selected as the lowest bidder for construction of four-lane access controlled greenfield highway section of NH-163G from Venkatpur village in Warangal district to Thallasenkesa village in Mahabubabed district of Telangana at a cost of Rs 847.87 crore. The company also, received letter of award from National Highways Authority of India for four highway projects, cumulatively worth Rs 3,712.88 crore, across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

• Tata Power: Tata Power Solar Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, received the letter of award of Rs 1,755 crore to set up a 300 MW solar project for NLC India in Rajasthan.

• JSW Steel: The company has been selected as the preferred bidder by the Ministry of Coal for two coal blocks in Jharkhand and one in Chhattisgarh. The two mining blocks in Jharkhand hold 108.85 million tonnes and 235.72 million tonnes of coal reserves, whereas the block in Chhattisgarh has 1,376.06 million tonnes of coal reserves.

• JK Cement: The company expanded grey cement capacity by 2 million tonnes per annum by increasing capacity at Mangrol, Muddapur, Jharli and Aligarh facilities by 0.5 MTPA each. The overall grey cement capacity of the company now stands at 20.67 MTPA.

• Shree Renuka Sugars: The company commenced ethanol production from expanded capacity at Athani (from 300 KLPD to 450 KLPD) and Munoli plants (from 120 KLPD to 500 KLPD).

• Reliance Industries: Sintex Industries allotted 600 crore shares worth Rs 600 crore and 900 crore debentures worth Rs 900 crore to Reliance Industries under the resolution plan for the former. The 59.93 crore shares of Sintex Industries issued prior to the approval of the resolution plan have been cancelled.

• Godrej Properties: The company increased its stake to 74% from 25.1% in both Wonder City Buildcon and Godrej Home Constructions, making them its subsidiaries.

• Punjab National Bank: The bank will raise Rs 12,000 crore through AT-1 bonds (Rs 7,000 crore) and Tier-II bonds (Rs 5,000 crore) in one or more tranches. The bank also sold its entire shareholding in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) to Avenue India Resurgence for an undisclosed cash consideration.

• HDFC: The mortgage lender will acquire 19.36 lakh shares of Next Gen Publishing, representing latter’s 16.13% shareholding, for Rs 1.7 crore.

• Bandhan Bank: The lender will transfer loans from banking units and SEL written-off portfolio with outstanding of Rs 2,614.03 crore and non-performing assets worth Rs 2,316.32 crore to asset reconstruction company for Rs 369.20 crore and Rs 370.62 crore, respectively.

• Aether Industries: The company executed a letter of intent with Saudi Aramco Technologies Company containing the preliminary terms for finalising a detailed licensing agreement regarding manufacturing and commercialisation Converge polyols technology and product series.

• Mahindra Lifespaces Developers: The company transferred 9.24 acres of residential land in Chennai’s Mahindra World City to Alliance Group. The land parcel will be developed as a multi-storey residential project under the latter’s brand Urban Rise.

• Ujjivan Financial Services/Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: The two companies sought NCLT’s approval to convene a shareholders’ meeting over their proposed merger.

• Tata Consumer Products: The company reappointed reappointment L Krishnakumar as whole-time director, designated as executive director and group CFO, for seven more months, effective April 1, 2023   .

• Tejas Networks: The company appointed Anand Athreya as CEO and MD designate of the company after Sanjay Nayak expressed his desire to seek voluntary retirement from post of CEO and MD of the company. Athreya will join the company on April 3, 2023 and will be appointed as CEO and MD after all regulatory and shareholder approvals.

• Lumax Industries: The company appointed Ravi Teltia as vice president and chief financial officer of the company, with effect from April 1, 2023, after Shruti Kant Rustagi stepped down from the office. Meanwhile, Kenjiro Nakazono resigned as a whole-time director of the company, effective April 7, 2023.

• Jindal Steel & Power: Care Ratings revised its outlook for the company from stable to positive, while retaining the credit rating at CARE AA(-).

• JSW Energy: JSW Neo Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has completed the acquisition of 1,753 MW of renewable energy assets from Mytrah Energy (India).

• Asian Paints: The board of the company will meet on May 11 to consider and approve the final dividend for the current fiscal as well as the financial results for the quarter and year ended March 2023.

Asia markets were set to rise after U.S. technology shares drove gains on Wall Street, despite pressure on financials after Federal Reserve officials reiterated their resolve to lower inflation.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s logistics arm Cainiao Network Technology Co. — currently valued at more than $20 billion — has started preparations with banks for its Hong Kong initial public offering.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% on Thursday while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%, pushing further into a bull market.

The gains on Wall Street came as market watchers digested a round of Fed commentary suggesting more monetary tightening was necessary, even after the collapse of three U.S. banks earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year treasuries was trading at 3.55%. Crude prices rose to $79-mark, while Bitcoin was hovering around 27,000-level.

At 7:42 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was down 0.04% at 17,252.5.

The Indian markets were shut on account of Ram Navami on Thursday. On Wednesday, domestic benchmark indices recovered from their respective intraday lows in the last hour of trade after a volatile session.

Indian rupee snapped its two-day rally against U.S. dollar amid rising crude prices and a stronger greenback in overseas market.

Overseas investors in Indian equities were net buyers for the second straight day on Wednesday. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 1,245.39 crore during the day. Domestic institutional investors turned net buyers after a day and bought equities worth Rs 822.99 crore, they snapped a 13-day buying streak on March 28.