Sensex, Nifty50 edge up in morning trade driven by auto and PSU bank stocks

• India’s equity markets edged up in morning trade on Wednesday ahead of the crucial Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) outcome on rate hikes later today.
  
• Auto and PSU bank stocks drove the gains this morning – all sectoral indices except media were trading in the green.
  
• SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the markets may perform, was up 0.2% or 36 points early in the morning today.
  

India’s equity markets edged up in morning trade on Wednesday ahead of the crucial Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) outcome on rate hikes later today. Auto and PSU bank stocks drove the gains this morning – all sectoral indices except media were trading in the green.

SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the markets may perform, was up 0.2% or 36 points early in the morning today.

Top gainers and losers on Nifty50

Source: NSE, as on March 22, 2023

Earlier on Tuesday, both Sensex and Nifty50 closed in the green, with Sensex gaining 0.77% to close 446 points higher at 58,075, while Nifty50 gained 0.7% to close 119 points higher at 17,108.

Global markets head higher ahead of FOMC outcome

The US Fed’s FOMC is all set to announce its interest rate outcome later today. Market sentiments around the world were positive – in the US, the Dow Jones closed 0.98% higher, while S&P 500 gained 1.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 1.58%.

Asian markets were all in the green on Wednesday morning, led by Nikkei 225 which gained 1.87%, followed by Hang Seng which was up 1.77%. Taiwan Weighted was up 1.31%, while KOSPI gained 0.87%. Shanghai Composite was up 0.26%.

Crude oil prices were a tad lower on Wednesday morning, with the Brent crude falling by 0.62% to $74.86 per barrel.

Stocks to watch

Tata Motors: The automaker has announced to increase the prices of commercial vehicles by up to 5% from April 1, 2023. The price increase will be applied across the range of vehicles with the exact amount varying according to the individual model and variant.

M&M: The automaker is in talks with global investors to raise $1-1.3 billion by selling shares of its electric vehicles unit to accelerate the expansion plans of its newly formed subsidiary EV Co, said a report by Mint.

L&T: The construction behemoth has secured major contracts in the range of ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 crore for its hydrocarbon business from an overseas customer. The work comprises engineering, procurement, construction and installation of offshore structures and upgradation of existing facilities.

Hindustan Zinc: The company has announced to pay a fourth interim dividend of ₹26 per share for the current financial year amounting to a total payout of ₹10,985 crore.

SBI Card and Payments Services: The company has declared an interim dividend of ₹2.50 per share for the current financial year. March 29 has been fixed as the record date for determining the entitlement of payment of dividend.

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