Sensex Falls 500 Points, Nifty Dips Below 14,900-Mark; SBI & Bajaj Finance Top Losers

Mon, 15 Mar 09:30 am

   Pre-Open   

   Momentum Moves   

   SGX Nifty   

   12:30 pm   

   Closing   

Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note today while US bond yields hovered near a 13-month peak as investors bet US economic growth will accelerate after the passing of a massive stimulus package.

The Nikkei is trading up by 0.1% while the Hang Seng is up 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 0.6%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended mixed on Friday as technology stocks came under renewed pressure.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a fresh record high and added nearly 300 points, or 0.9%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq underperformed and dropped 0.6%, but came off session lows.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a negative note, following weak signals from Asian markets.

Shares of MTAR Technologies will debut on the bourses today. The issue which ran between March 3-5 was subscribed over 200 times.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 515 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 149 points.

Tech Mahindra is among the top gainers today. SBI, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened down by 0.8%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.5%.

Barring consumer durable stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in red with stocks in the energy sector and banking sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

Shares of Vaibhav Global and Linde India hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 72.72 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.4% at Rs 44,935 per 10 grams.

Gold prices gained today as the passage of a US stimulus bill stoked inflation risks, although a resultant bounce in Treasury yields kept gains in check.

Speaking of gold, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily, India's #1 trader Vijay Bhambwani explains why you need to seriously consider buying gold now for the long term.

Tune in to the video below to find out more:

In news from the financial markets, India's foreign-exchange reserves surpassed Russia's to become the world's fourth largest.

Reserves for both countries have mostly flattened out this year after months of rapid increase. India pulled ahead as Russian holdings declined at a faster rate in recent weeks.

India's foreign currency holdings fell by US$ 4.3 billion to US$ 580.3 billion as of March 5, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday, edging out Russia's US$ 580.1 billion pile.

China has the largest reserves, followed by Japan and Switzerland on the International Monetary Fund table.

Reports state that India's reserves have been bolstered by a rare current-account surplus, rising inflows into the local stock market and foreign direct investment.

The RBI bought a net US$ 88 billion in the spot forex market last year, central bank data show. That helped make the rupee the worst performer among Asia's major currencies last year and earned India a place on a US Treasury watchlist for currency manipulation.

A recent RBI report recommended further strengthening of foreign-exchange reserves, citing swings in the rupee around the time of the global taper tantrum in 2013.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

Speaking of stock markets, in the latest Momentum Moves video, Brijesh Bhatia explains why the markets are showing signs of tiring at higher levels.

As per Brijesh, Nifty is likely to consolidate and a fresh trend might emerge only below 14,450 or above 15,400.

In the video, Brijesh also talk about the metal index. The metal index will continue to trend higher. When compared with the CRB Commodity Index it highlights the co-relation of commodity prices with the equity metal index in India and US.

As per Brijesh, investors should continue to hold as well as accumulate metals stocks in their portfolio.

Tune in to the video below to find out more:

Moving on to news from the power sector, power consumption in the country grew 16.5% in the first 12 days of this month at 47.67 billion units (BU) over the corresponding period a year ago, showing a revival in the economic activities, according to power ministry data.

Power consumption during March 1-12 last year was recorded at 40.92 BU.

On the other hand, the peak power demand met, which is the highest supply in a day, during this 12-day period of March 2021 remained well above the highest record of 170.16 GW in the entire March 2020.

Till March 12, 2021, peak power demand met touched the highest level of 186.03 GW on March 11, 2021, and recorded a growth of 9.3% over 170.16 GW a year ago.

Reports state that the rise in power demand and consumption indicates that the impact of pandemic-induced lockdown and sluggish economic conditions have tapered off.

In other news from the power sector, Tata Power is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Tata Power has refuted the media reports which said that Tata Power along with Tesla is looking to set up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

In a stock exchange filing, Tata Power said, "our EV charging business are constantly examining and exploring various growth opportunities of the business. No arrangement or agreements have been finalised as reported in the media. As required, we confirm that the news item published in "CNBC TV 18" dated 12th March 2021 is factually incorrect."

Last week, reports stated that talks between Tata Power and Tesla are in the initial stages and no arrangements have been finalised yet.

In January, the US electric-car maker incorporated Tesla Motors India and Energy Private with its registered office in the southern city of Bengaluru.

Tata Motors, the car-making unit of Tata Sons, last week denied any tie-up with Tesla, after media reports suggested the two companies were discussing a partnership.

Tata Power share price has opened the day down by 1.1%.

Speaking of the power sector, it is interesting to note that the power exchanged in India is about 4.5% of the overall power production, as can be seen in the chart below:

As per Tanushree Banerjee, Co-Head of Research at Equitymaster, India's power sector is currently in transition. It is driven by increasing reliance on short-term contracts and electricity spot markets.

This transition to the short-term market is happening due to quickly evolving industry dynamics.

Tanushree believes the Indian power sector will see a surge in spot power volumes due to certain factors.

In August 2020, Tanushree recommended a high-quality stock from this space. Subscribers can read the report here (requires subscription).

And if you are not a StockSelect subscriber, here's where you can sign up.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers