Stock Market Highlights: Nifty, Sensex closes 0.5% higher; Dr Reddy’s, SBI Life top gainers

The Nifty 50 closed 119 points or 0.53% higher at 22,516 while the Sensex jumped 362 points or 0.49% to end at 74,191.

IRFC declares the second interim dividend of Rs 0.80 per equity share on a face value of Rs 10 per share.

At 3:00 PM IST, the Indian stock market was trading in the green, with the Sensex rising 362.10 points or 0.49% to 74,191.01, while the Nifty climbed 119.85 points or 0.54% to 22,517.05.

In intraday trading, the BSE MidCap index climbed 316.97 points or 0.81%, trading at 39,379.79, while the BSE SmallCap index edged up 101.04 points or 0.23%, trading at 43,946.02.

In today’s trading session, a total of 2,910 stocks were traded on the Nifty. Out of these, 1,164 stocks advanced, while 1,666 declined, and 80 remained unchanged so far. Meanwhile, 27 stocks touched their 52-week high, whereas a significant 328 stocks hit their 52-week low.

At this hour, the top gainers in the Nifty 50 include Bajaj Finserv, SBI Life, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Trent, and Axis Bank. On the other side, major losers were Britannia, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, BPCL, and Asian Paints.

India’s wholesale inflation climbed to 2.38% in February 2025, driven by higher prices of food products, textiles, and non-food articles. The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry highlights rising costs in manufacturing and essential goods.

“Gold prices rose to an all-time high last week breaking though the key $3,000 level with the safe haven supported by President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff threats, while soft U.S. inflation prints further aided sentiment. This supported silver as well, which marked an all time high on domestic front, breaching Rs. 1 lakh. Escalating trade tensions and economic indicators led to a more than 3% rally in both Gold and Silver last week President Donald Trump threatened 200% tariffs on European alcoholic beverages, including wines and champagnes, in retaliation to the European Union’s decision to impose a 50% levy on American whiskey,” said Manav Modi, Senior Analyst, Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial services Ltd.

In the afternoon trading session, the Sensex climbed 355.37 points or 0.48%, trading at 74,184.28, while the Nifty advanced 109.70 points or 0.49% to trade at 22,506.90.

The share price of Ola Electric Mobility plunged below Rs 50 on NSE, down 6.2% intra-day. This decline in the share price of the EV maker comes after Rosmerta Digital Services initiated insolvency proceedings against OLA Electric Mobility’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ola Electric Technologies, for non-payment of incurred services.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Pharma is trading at 20,674.25, up 1.4%. Major gainers include Granules India, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories , Natco Pharma, Ajanta Pharma, and Biocon.

“Technically, the market is exhibiting non-directional activity; on the lower side, it is consistently finding support near 22300/73300, while profit booking has been witnessed between 22600/74700 and 22650/74900. We believe that the current market texture is non-directional, and traders may be awaiting a breakout in either direction. For the bulls, the key breakout zone is at 22650/74900. A dismissal of the 22650/74900 breakout could push the market towards 22800-22900/75500-75800. Conversely, if the market falls below 22300/73300, selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below this level, the market could retest levels of 22100-22000/72700-72400,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

IndusInd Bank saw a strong rally on Monday morning, jumping over 4.5% to hit Rs 709.90 on the NSE. The surge came after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in to dismiss concerns about the bank’s stability. In an official statement, the central bank assured investors that IndusInd Bank is financially sound and well-capitalised, easing market jitters.

“The near-term market trend is likely to be stable with a positive bias. The positive factors are the steadily declining trend in FII outflows and the outperformance of India over the US last week. This positive trend has fundamental support from the bounce back in FY25 Q3 GDP growth to 6.2%, the spurt in January IIP to 5%, and the decline in February CPI inflation to 3.61%,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

In the early trading hours, the top gainers in the Nifty 50 include IndusInd Bank – up by nearly 3%, followed by SBI Life (2.5%), Bajaj Finserv (2%), Coal India and Tata Motors (1% each).

On the other hand, Infosys, HCL Tech, BPCL, Wipro and Nestle India were the key laggards.

The Indian indices, Sensex and Nifty, opened on a positive note today. The Sensex was trading at 73,830.03, up by 0.36%. Similarly, the Nifty opened at 22,353.15, up 0.4%.

In the today’s trading session, the Sensex started on a positive note at 73,920.58, gaining 91.67 points or 0.12% in pre-open trade. However, the Nifty showed weakness, falling 271 points or 1.21% to 22,126.20.

Several stocks are set for corporate actions this week, starting March 17. Castrol India, Power Finance Corporation, and Indian Railway Finance Corporation will adjust for dividend payouts. Meanwhile, Sika Interplant Systems, Blue Pearl Agriventures, and Padam Cotton Yarns will undergo stock splits and bonus share issuances.

This week, the IPO market is buzzing with one mainboard IPO and three SME IPOs set to open, while two recently closed issues are gearing up for their market debut. The mainboard IPO hitting the Street is Arisinfra Solutions, while the SME segment will see the bidding of Paradeep Parivahan IPO, Divine Hira Jewellers IPO, and Grand Continent Hotels IPO. Additionally, two listings are scheduled this week – PDP Shipping IPO and Super Iron Foundry IPO, marking their debut on the stock exchanges.

“Last week, the Nifty faced bearish pressure due to Trump’s tariff threats, overshadowing the positive impact of cooling inflation. However, Monday brings optimism with Wall Street’s Friday rally, signaling a strong start for Nifty. A bullish trend is expected if Trump backs off from tariffs. Key drivers include a 675-point surge in Dow Jones, cooling inflation data in the US and India, and the possibility of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and RBI. Attention will be on WPI inflation, trade data, and FII activity, while NTPC, PowerGrid, and Cipla offer potential gains for the week,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Asian markets started the week on a positive note, with major indices opening higher on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw a strong start, while the broader Topix index also gained momentum. South Korea’s Kospi opened in the green, with the small-cap Kosdaq following suit with modest gains.

Hello everyone! Welcome to the stock market live blog of FinancialExpress.com. You can find latest news on share market on this blog very 20 mins.