| The key equity benchmarks ended with small gains today, extending rally for a third consecutive session after initial intraday weakness was absorbed by robust buying. Investor sentiment was underpinned by the landmark India-US trade agreement, which reduced external uncertainty and bolstered confidence in near-term economic and corporate growth prospects. Market recovery also reflects tactical buying by funds anticipating positive spillovers from trade and policy developments.The Nifty settled above the 25,750 mark.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 78.56 points or 0.09% to 83,817.69. The Nifty 50 index rose 48.45 points or 0.19% to 25,776. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex added 3.83% while the Nifty jumped 3.82%.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index advanced 0.61% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.54%. The market breadth was strong.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 4.98% to 12.25.
Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Consumer Durables index (up 2.66%), the Nifty Oil & Gas index (up 2.08%) and the Nifty Auto index (up 1.18%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index (down 5.87%), the Nifty Pharma index (down 0.34%) and the Nifty Healthcare index (up 0.13%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.
RBI MPC:
The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel began its three-day meeting for the upcoming bi-monthly monetary policy on Wednesday, against the backdrop of a growth-focused Union Budget, low inflation, and the recently concluded India–US trade deal that has eased prolonged external uncertainty.
The decision of the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced on Friday.
Economy:
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI rose to 58.5 in January from 58.0 in December. The flash score was 59.3. A score above 50.0 indicates expansion.
Both output and new orders grew at faster rates in January, and the upturn in the latter was driven by demand buoyancy, new business gains, and tech investment. The growth in sales was attributed to greater client interest in their services and a stronger online presence. New export orders grew at the fastest pace in three months, linked to new business gains from clients in Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In line with rising new orders, Indian service providers resumed hiring activity in January, though the pace of job creation was only marginal. On the price front, input price inflation accelerated to a 4-month high in January, and selling price inflation was the strongest in three months. Looking ahead, business confidence strengthened amid optimistic forecasts for efficiency gains, marketing efforts, and new client wins.
The composite output index rose to 58.4 in January from December's 11-month low of 57.8, indicating that the latest sharp rate of expansion in the Indian private sector was boosted by stronger growth at goods producers as well as service providers.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.19% to 6.708 compared with previous session close of 6.721.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.4475 compared with its close of 90.3200 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement jumped 3.25% to Rs 158,811.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.20% to 97.57.
The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.19% to 4.280.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 38 cents or 0.56% to $67.71 a barrel.
Global Markets:
European stocks traded higher on Wednesday as Euro zone inflation cooled to 1.7% in January, flash data from statistics agency Eurostat showed Wednesday. Core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, stood at 2.2% in January, a touch down from the 2.3% seen in the year to December.
The latest data shows the key inflation rate has now dipped below the European Central Bank’s 2% target. It’s likely to steer clear of any more rate cuts for the foreseeable future.
Asian markets ended higher, breaking ranks with Wall Street after a sell-off in U.S. technology stocks weighed on sentiment, while gold extended gains for a second day.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 pulled back as investors dumped technology stocks and moved into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy.
The broad market index fell 0.84% and closed at 6,917.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 166.67 points, or 0.34%, to end at 49,240.99. Earlier, the 30-stock index rose as much as 0.5% to touch 49,653.13, a new record. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.43%, settling at 23,255.19. |