Key indices end higher for 3rd day

Indian equity benchmarks ended on a positive note on Wednesday, taking their winning momentum to the third day running due to heavy buying in market heavyweights Tata Steel, Zomato and Power Grid Corporation amid fresh foreign fund inflows. However, intense selling in blue-chip IT stocks put some pressure on the markets ahead of the US Fed policy decision. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Fresh FII inflows: After a month of relentless selling, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 694.57 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data. 

RBI to conduct another OMO to infuse Rs 50,000 crore to ease liquidity crunch: With an aim to ease the liquidity crunch, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to conduct open market operation (OMO) purchase auction of Government of India securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 50,000 crore to be held on March 25, 2025. 

Rupee logs gains: Rising for the fourth straight session, Indian rupee appreciated against the US dollar, supported by a positive trend in domestic equity markets and lower global crude oil prices.

Lower global crude oil prices: Oil prices fell after Russia agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal that Moscow and Kyiv temporarily stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure, a move that could eventually pave the way for Russian oil to enter global markets.

Weak global cues: European markets were trading mostly in red ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day. Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday as Middle East tensions escalated, and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's projections for economic growth and inflation against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive stance on tariffs.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 147.79 points or 0.20% to 75,449.05, and the CNX Nifty was up by 73.30 points or 0.32% to 22,907.60.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,568.38 and 75,201.48 respectively. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 2.28%, while Small cap index was up by 2.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.75%, Industrials up by 2.55%, Power up by 2.30%, Capital Goods up by 2.24% and Utilities up by 2.16%, while IT down by 0.83%, FMCG down by 0.43% and TECK down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.52%, Zomato up by 2.34%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.27%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.01% and Indusind Bank up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.43%, TCS down by 1.56%, ITC down by 1.55%, Infosys down by 1.38% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to ease the liquidity crunch, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to conduct open market operation (OMO) purchase auction of Government of India securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 50,000 crore to be held on March 25, 2025. The central bank will purchase Government securities through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method.

Further, the Reserve Bank reserves the right to decide on the quantum of purchase of individual securities; accept bids for less than the aggregate amount; purchase marginally higher/lower than the aggregate amount due to rounding-off; and accept or reject any or all the bids either wholly or partially without assigning any reasons.

The result of the auction will be announced on the same day and successful participants should ensure availability of securities in their SGL account by 12 noon on March 26, 2025. In the recently held OMO Purchase auction on March 18, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India received bids exceeding twice the notified amount (i.e. Rs 1,01,114 crore against the notified amount of Rs 50,000 crore). 

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 22,940.70 and 22,807.95. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.91%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.83%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.93%, Tata Steel up by 2.51% and Power Grid Corporation up by 2.18%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.32%, ITC down by 1.39%, TCS down by 1.34%, Infosys down by 1.26% and sun pharma down by 0.87% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC rose 39.27 points or 0.48% to 8,153.84 and Germany’s DAX lost 34.24 points or 0.15% to 23,346.46, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 9.15 points or 0.11% to 8,696.08.

Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday tracking Wall Streets’ overnight fall following growing concerns over US President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies, while investors awaited the US Federal Reserve's policy decision with focus on its updated projections for economic growth and inflation. Meanwhile, rising US recession fears and tensions flared over Gaza have also added pressure on market sentiments. Chinese shares marginally fell amid reports that banks are slashing rates on consumer loans to record rates, following efforts by policymakers to stabilize growth and counter US tariffs. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined as the Bank of Japan left rates steady and signaled concern about the impact of trade tensions on the global economy.