Sensex at 50,341; Nifty down 19 points

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Benchmark Indian equity indices opened in the red ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with chief ministers on rising COVID-19 cases and U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later in the day. In opening trades Sensex was trading at 50,341 down 22 points, while the broader market index Nifty50 fell 19 points at 14,891.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, Asian Paints, Axis Bank & Powergrid were top losers on the Sensex. On the other side stocks like ITC, L&T, Tech Mahindra, HUL and M&M were the gainers.

Barring Nifty FMCG up 0.37% & Nifty IT 0.10% all other sectoral indices were trading in the red. Nifty Bank, Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma were down anywhere between 0.30%-0.45%.

However, the market breadth was positive as 961 shares advanced compared to 709 shares declining and 540 shares remained unchanged on the  NSE.

The broader market was better placed compared to benchmark indices as the BSE MidCap index was up 0.23% & the BSE SmallCap index rose 0.49% in opening trades.

Stocks in spotlight

State Bank of India (SBI) said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has, vide its letter dated 16th March 2021, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2 crore on the bank for contravention of provisions of Section 10 (1 ) (b) (ii) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and specific directions of RBI issued to the bank on payment of remuneration to employees in the form of commission. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 51 (1 ) of the Act.

Private equity firm Carlyle has reportedly launched a block deal to sell around a 4% stake in the SBI Cards & Payment Services and raise around $513 million. The offer price range is Rs 981.80 per share to Rs 1,022.10 per share.

BPCL informed that the board of directors has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share for the financial year 2020-21. Further, the board of directors have fixed Saturday, 27th March 2021 as the record date to determine the eligibility of the shareholders to receive the interim dividend.

Vedanta Resources (VRL), along with persons acting in concert with it (PACs), have decided to: (a) increase the number of equity shares to be acquired in the Open Offer to up to 651,000,000 equity shares, representing 17.51% of the voting share capital of Vedanta; and (b) increase the offer price to Rs 235 per equity share including interest of Rs 1.29 per equity share. The total consideration for the offer is about Rs 15,300 crore.

Bharat Forge said the company has formed a new company Kalyani Powertrain to look into electric vehicle (EV) business initiatives. The newly formed subsidiary will look at organic and inorganic opportunities in the EV space.

BEML received export orders from Cameroon and Bangladesh under the Government of India-Lines of credit.

H. G. Infra Engineering informed that the company has been declared L-1 bidder by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi.

IPO Rush

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies is all set to hit the primary market with its Rs 583-crore IPO today. Given that Nazara is well placed in the online gaming space due to its leadership position and diversified offerings, analysts suggest investors subscribe to the issue.

Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SFB) is also slated to open on Wednesday.

Among the active issues, Kalyan Jewellers was subscribed 60% on the first day of bidding, while Laxmi Organics and Craftsman Automation were subscribed 6.05 times and 1.26 times respectively on the second day. The IPO of Anupam Rasayan, meanwhile, was subscribed 31 times on the final day of bidding.

Global markets

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on Wednesday as investors wait for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later in the day. All eyes are on the US Fed whether the central bank will maintain near-zero interest rates amid the economy’s post-pandemic recovery.

In the U.S., the Dow fell from its record high and snapped a seven-day winning streak on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy announcement.