Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains and were trading higher by over half a percent in late morning deals as investors opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices on BSE were also trading higher with gains in the range of 0.60-0.80%. Sentiments got boost as worries abated over contagion in the U.S. banking sector and in-line inflation data cooled expectations regarding the size of the rate hike at next week's FOMC meeting. Traders were also getting encouragement with Anurag Jain, the secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), stating that inclusion and equity are important for India to transform into a developed nation, with technology aiding this growth. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Metal, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Industrials and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in Telecom and FMCG.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as data showing a drop in US consumer prices in February contributed significantly to the positive mood in the market. Back home, in the stock specific development, Ramkrishna Forgings (RKFL) hit a record high after the company emerged as the L1 bidder for manufacturing and supply of forged wheels.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58212.00, up by 311.81 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 58052.12 and 58473.63. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.62%, while Small cap index up by 0.77%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.55%, Capital Goods up by 1.37%, Consumer Durables up by 1.28%, Industrials up by 1.06% and Healthcare up by 0.97%, while Telecom down by 0.59% and FMCG down by 0.03% were only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 4.09%, Tata Steel up by 2.16%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.12%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.08% and Titan up by 1.84%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.59%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.28%, Nestle down by 0.75% and Reliance Industries down by 0.29% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service in its latest report has said that most Asia-Pacific (APAC) financial institutions are not exposed to the failed US banks and are not as susceptible to large losses from debt security holdings as Silicon Valley Bank was. On March 12, US regulators closed Signature Bank, just two days after shutting Silicon Valley Bank, following mass withdrawals of customer deposits from these regional banks.

The US-based rating agency said these events are likely to result in a tightening of liquidity in debt markets globally as investors grow wary. However, the impact will be limited for most rated financial institutions in Asia-Pacific (APAC) because of structural factors. It said rated banks in APAC structurally have stable funding and ample liquidity. They are mostly funded with customer deposits, while their market borrowings are modest at about 16 per cent of their total assets on average. Their business depositors are well diversified across different sectors, with no rated bank in the region being heavily exposed to technology companies. Also, APAC banks' deposits are generally not heavily concentrated on single clients.

According to the report, most banks in the region are subject to liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) requirements that are aimed at ensuring banks hold ample high-quality liquid assets to get through stressed funding conditions, such as deposit runs. In most systems in APAC, banks' investments in held-to-maturity (HTM) instruments are generally not substantial relative to tangible common equity, unlike the case of Silicon Valley Bank, which suffered substantial unrealized losses from its large HTM investments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17145.75, up by 102.45 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 17094.50 and 17211.35. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 4.06%, Tata Steel up by 2.26%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.13%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.10% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.59%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.16%, Nestle down by 0.70%, SBI Life down by 0.47% and Britannia down by 0.44% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Taiwan Weighted added 27.17 points or 0.18% to 15,387.59, Hang Seng advanced 232.39 points or 1.21% to 19,480.35, Shanghai Composite strengthened 20.71 points or 0.64% to 3,266.02, KOSPI increased 32.39 points or 1.38% to 2,381.36, Jakarta Composite gained 0.89 points or 0.01% to 6,642.70, Straits Times rose 38.34 points or 1.23% to 3,168.09 and Nikkei 225 surged 7.44 points or 0.03% to 27,229.48.