The equity benchmarks ended higher on Friday, extending the winning run to a third consecutive session. The Nifty settled above the 22,090 after hitting a low of 21,883.30 in early trade. Weakness in IT stocks dragged the market lower after tech giant Accenture cut its full-year revenue growth forecast. However, strength in auto and healthcare stocks provided support.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 190.75 points or 0.26% to 72,831.94. The Nifty 50 index rose 84.80 points or 0.39% to 22,096.75. The 50-unit index has risen 1.28% in three sessions.

Titan Company (up 2.21%), ITC (up 1.71%) and Larsen & Toubro (up 1.62%) boosted the indices.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.38% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.06%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,419 shares rose and 1,399 shares fell. A total of 88 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 2.33% to 12.22.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Monday, 25 March 2024, on account of Holi.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.31% to 7.072 as compared with the previous close of 7.050.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.6200, compared with its close of 83.1375 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement declined 0.29% to Rs 66,000.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.93% to 104.38.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 0.64% to 4.244.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement added 9 cents or 0.10% to $85.87 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European stocks rose on Friday, while Asian shares closed lower, as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve's policy decision.

The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday, despite falling inflation.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index reached a new all-time high on Friday after inflation in the country accelerated in February. Japan's consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in February, compared to 2.2% in January.

US stocks climbed to new records, extending their rally after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady and signaled rate cuts for later in 2024.

Buzzing Segment:

IT stocks slumped after tech giant Accenture cut its revenue guidance. It has revised its full-year revenue growth projection at 1%-3% from 2%-5%.

The Nifty IT index dropped 2.33% to 35,188.40. LTIMindtree, Infosys, Coforge, Persistent Systems, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Mphasis, L&T Technology Services, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra fell by between 1.54% to 2.94%

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) added 1.62% after the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 27 March 2024 to consider and approve fund raising including by way of debt issue.

Sarda Energy & Minerals zoomed 10.80% after the company?s subsidiary joint venture Natural Resources Energy received the letter of intent (LoI) for composite licence for Surjagad-1 iron ore block in the state of Maharashtra.

Gensol Engineering hit an upper circuit of 5% after it secured a turnkey EPC order from a leading power generation utility in Maharashtra worth Rs 520 crore.

Neuland Laboratories jumped 5.27% after the firm said that its manufacturing facility located at Hyderabad has successfully completed the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspection with zero observations.

Reliance Power hit an upper circuit of 5% to Rs 26.27 after the company has said that it has fulfilled all of its obligations under the Settlement Agreement with regard to its borrowings from DBS Bank India.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) hit an upper circuit of 5% to Rs 138.65 after the firm?s board will meet on Thursday, 28 March 2024 to consider raising Rs 24,200 crore through borrowing program for financial year 2024-2025.

Man Infraconstruction advanced 2.80% after the company said that it has acquired a residential luxury project near Marine Lines in Mumbai.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) rose 1.02% after the company accepted the Mumbai Port Authority's 29-year lease for the allotment of land and building on a long-term lease basis for Rs 354 crore.

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