Key gauges take winning streak to 4th day

Rallying for the fourth straight session, Indian equity benchmarks ended with gains of over a percent on Thursday, powered by robust buying across sectors, coupled with short covering on the weekly expiry day. The upbeat mood followed Wall Street’s overnight rally after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Meanwhile, broader indices also edged higher, each adding over half a percent.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade: 

India’s structural strengths provide strong foundation for growth: RBI March Bulletin said sound fiscal policies, a well-calibrated monetary framework, and digital transformation initiatives are expected to provide a strong foundation for long-term sustainable economic growth. 

FMCG sector to experience mild revenue rebound to 6-8% next fiscal: Crisil Ratings has said that the Indian FMCG sector is expected to witness a mild revenue rebound of 100 to 200 basis points to 6-8 per cent in fiscal 2026 owed to a gradual recovery in urban and steady rural demand, while in ongoing 2024-25 fiscal the sector is expected to have a modest revenue growth 5-6 per cent as the volume rises 4-6 per cent.  

Oil prices edge higher: Oil prices edged higher as a higher-than-expected fuel inventories drawdown in the U.S and renewed tensions in the Middle East countered strength in the dollar. 

FII selling resumes: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities on Wednesday after a day as they offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,096.5 crore, according to exchange data.  So far in March, the FIIs have offloaded equities worth Rs 33,869 crore.

Global front: European markets were trading lower ahead of the Bank of England's rate decision due later in the session, with the central bank widely expected to keep interest rates on hold due to tariff uncertainties and the British government's impending tax hike for employers. Asian markets settled mixed after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as widely expected, and signaled the possibility of two rate cuts by the end of the year, given increased uncertainty around the economic outlook.  

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 899.01 points or 1.19% to 76,348.06, and the CNX Nifty was up by 283.05 points or 1.24% to 23,190.65.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 76,456.25 and 75,684.58 respectively. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.94%, TECK up by 1.89%, Oil & Gas up by 1.56%, Energy up by 1.42% and Auto up by 1.39%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.17%, Titan Company up by 3.82%, TCS up by 1.88%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.86% and Infosys up by 1.74%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.23%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.66% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal during the 4th National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) meet has said that the government is planning Sagarmala 2.0 with a new funding to bridge infrastructure gaps. He said ‘as we move towards Sagarmala 2.0, our focus is on bridging critical infrastructure gaps with fresh investments, driving coastal economic growth, and positioning India as a global maritime leader’. 

The minister further said the government has invested Rs 5.79 lakh crore to develop 839 projects in the country under the Sagarmala programme. He asserted that the Modi government is committed to Maritime Sector transformation. 

The NSAC meet decided to boost port led development and enhance maritime infrastructure of the country. The implementation status of key projects under Sagarmala -- the flagship programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) -- was reviewed under the meet. 

Sagarmala 2.0 is a visionary upgrade with a new focus on shipbuilding, repair, breaking, and recycling. Sagarmala 1.0 will be over in 2026. Backed by Rs 40,000 crore in budgetary support, it aims to catalyse investments worth Rs 12 lakh crore over the next decade. Sagarmala has made India’s ports faster, boosted the coastal economy, revived inland waterways, and improved global logistics rankings.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,216.70 and 22,973.95. There were 44 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining, while 2 stocks remained unchanged on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.08%, Titan Company up by 3.47%, Eicher Motors up by 2.61%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.57% and Britannia Industries up by 2.57%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.11%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.59%, Trent down by 0.30% and Shriram Finance down by 0.25% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 32.77 points or 0.38% to 8,673.89, France’s CAC fell 99.02 points or 1.21% to 8,072.45 and Germany’s DAX lost 405.12 points or 1.74% to 22,882.94.