On the basis of negative indications from other Asian markets, Indian stock benchmarks closed the last trading session of the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) on a weaker note.

Key indices began positively as traders took some solace from the International Monetary Fund’s statement that India, which has received a record amount of foreign direct investment in recent years despite the COVID-19 crisis, has a number of safeguards in place to mitigate the risks associated with capital flows.

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The Nifty has a small negative candle on the daily chart with minor upper and lower shadows, reflecting rangebound action in the market, according to Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

“We observe a lack of sharp selling from near its crucial overhead resistance at 17,500 levels. This could be considered positive for the market as the consolidation movement could eventually result in an upside breakout of the hurdle,” he said.

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Indian Indices

Sensex fell 115.48 points or 0.20% to 58,568.51 and Nifty was down by 33.50 points or 0.19% to 17,464.75 in the previous session. Sensex touched a high and low of 58,890.92 and 58,485.79, respectively. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.  Nifty traded in a range of 17,559.80 and 17,435.20. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

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Broader Indices

The broader indices ended in green with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.29%, while the Small cap index was up by 0.31%. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.90%, FMCG up by 1.12%, Power up by 0.88%, Utilities up by 0.73% and PSU up by 0.42%, while Healthcare down by 0.98%, Metal down by 0.43%, IT down by 0.33%, TECK down by 0.18% and Energy down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

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Support and Resistance levels

The key support level for the Nifty is placed at 17,413, followed by 17,362. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,538 and 17,611, according to pivot charts.

SGX Nifty

The trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 66-points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 17,448.00 on the Singaporean Exchange at around 07:00 hours IST.

Asian Markets

Asian markets finished broadly lower yesterday with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. The Hang Seng was down 1.06% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 0.73% and China’s Shanghai Composite was lower by 0.44%.

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US Markets

The S&P 500 fell 72.04 points, or 1.6%, to 4,530.41.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 550.46 points, or 1.6%, to 34,678.35.

The Nasdaq fell 221.76 points, or 1.5%, to 14,220.52.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 20.94 points, or 1%, to 2,070.13.

European Markets

European markets finished mixed on Thursday. The CAC 40 gained 1.07%, while the DAX led the FTSE 100 lower. They fell 1.31% and 0.83% respectively.

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India’s March electricity shortage worst since October 2021 coal crisis

India’s electricity shortage from March 1 to March 30 was worse since October 2021. A sudden rise in power demand in March has forced India to reduce coal supplies to the non-power sector and shelve its plans for some fuel auctions for utilities without supply deals due to a slump in inventories, reported Reuters. Several northern states suffered hours-long power cuts in October when a crushing coal shortage caused the worst electricity deficit in almost five years. Indian Government runs the SAUBHAGYA scheme, which is one of the world’s biggest universal electrification initiatives, with collaborative efforts of the Centre and states. It is a concurrent program to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana‟ (DDUGJY). Under SAUBHAGYA, DISCOMs organize camps in villages so that application forms can be filled out on-site, including the issuance of electricity connections to households.

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Delhivery IPO expected in Q1 of next fiscal as market condition improves

Logistics and supply chain company Delhivery is looking to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in the June 2022 quarter. In November 2021, the Gurugram-based firm filed its draft papers with the market regulator Securities exchange board of India (SEBI). It received SEBI’s approval for the IPO in January. Delhivery had planned to raise more than Rs 7,000 crore through the listing, including a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 5,000 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of Rs 2,460 crore. The IPO-bound company on Thursday said that it has partnered with Reliance-owned fashion and apparel marketplace Ajio to improve customer experience. “Delhivery partnered with Ajio to launch a technology-based Quality Check Return Product (QC-RVP). The QC-RVP product enables Delhivery’s around 26,000 last mile agents to perform stringent quality checks at the customer’s doorstep before returning the shipment to Ajio.” the company said in a statement.

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Telecom customer base declines in January, Airtel only gainer: TRAI

India’s telecom subscriber base declined marginally to 116.94 crore in January 2022, according to the latest data released by TRAI. The country had 117.84 crore telecom subscribers in December 2021. “The number of telephone subscribers in India decreased from 1,178.41 million (117.84 crore) at the end of December 2021 to 1,169.46 million (116.94 crore) at the end of January 2022, thereby showing a monthly decline rate of 0.76%,” TRAI said. The number of telecom subscribers declined across most circles, except in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir. Mobile or the wireless segment accounts for nearly 98% of the total telecom subscriber base in the country. The number of wireless users dropped by 0.81% to 114.52 crore at the end of January from 115.46 crore at the end of December.

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Fully cooperating with CCI probe, says Apollo Tyres

A day after the Competition Commission of India raided the premises of tyre companies, including Apollo Tyres, in an alleged case of breach of law violation and cartelization, the company Thursday released a statement saying that it is fully cooperating with the investigation. “We would like to reiterate that the company follows the highest level of governance practices and operates within the letter and by the spirit of the law,” Apollo Tyres said in an exchange filing. India’s antitrust body on Wednesday conducted raids on the premises of four major tyre companies, including MRF and Apollo Tyres. The CCI also raided the offices of Ceat and Germany’s Continental AG, the manufacturer of Continental Tyres. “We are fully cooperating with the antitrust regulator’s investigation and have provided all the details required,” said Apollo Tyres. The company added that it has acted and will continue to act in compliance with the competition laws.

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Ukraines’ economy to shrink by 20%, Russias’ by 10% in 2022: Report

Ukraine’s economy will shrink by a fifth in 2022, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in a situation where a cease-fire is agreed upon in a month or two. The economies of Russia and Ukraine will contract by 10% and 20%, respectively, this year as the war between the two countries causes “the greatest supply shock” for 50 years, the EBRD said on Thursday. The prediction is susceptible to significant downside risks “should hostilities escalate or should exports of gas or other commodities from Russia become restricted,” the EBRD said in its biannual regional economic update published on Thursday. The forecast anticipates that a cease-fire would be reached within a few months, that reconstruction of the country will begin in 2023, and that the GDP will increase by 23% next year. Russia’s economy would shrink by 10% this year and remain stagnant in 2023. Russia’s recession might worsen if Europe joins a ban on oil imports or drastically cuts its dependence on Russian natural gas.

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Bulk Deal data

KAYAK INVESTMENTS HOLDING PTE.LTD sold 9,69,58,852 shares in Max Healthcare Ins Ltd at Rs 340.00 per share on the NSE.

JSP EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST bought 57,50,000 shares in Jindal Steel & Power at Rs 536.22 per share on the NSE.

TCG FUNDS FUND 1 bought 73,000 shares in Ajooni Biotech Limited at Rs 67.29 per share on the NSE.

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JANATI BIO POWER PRIVATE LIMITED sold 70,00,000 shares in Orient Green Power Co Ltd at Rs 11.97 per share on the NSE.

MANSOUL COMMERCIAL PRIVATE LIMITED bought 9,55,000 shares in Iris Business Serv Ltd at Rs 101.00 per share on the NSE.

NARESH JAGUMAL KARDA sold 100,00,000 shares of KBC Global Limited at Rs 9.71 per share on NSE.

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SYSTEMATIX SHARES AND STOCKS (INDIA) LIMITED sold 1,83,000 shares of Empyrean Cashews Limited at Rs 44.10 per share on NSE.

VIKASA INDIA EIF I FUND bought 2,00,000 shares in Mangalam Global Ent Ltd at Rs 199.00 per share on the NSE.

VAISHALI PANKAJ VYAS sold 2,26,800 shares of SecUR Credentials Limited at Rs 113.09 per share on NSE.

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MUDUPULAVEMULA SURENDRANADHA REDDY sold 93,149 shares in Silgo Retail Limited at Rs 30.65 per share on the NSE.

RAMLAL KANWARLAL JAIN sold 60,05,237 shares in Vikas EcoTech Limited at Rs 5.32 per share on the NSE.

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DII and FII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 3,088.73 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,145.28 crore in the Indian equity market on March 31, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

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NSE F&O Ban

No security or stock has been put under the F&O ban for April 1. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.