Domestic indices extended losses on weekly F&O expiry. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 96.95 pts or 0.57% to 16,875.20, BSE Sensex plunged 301.86 pts or 0.52% to 57,254.04 and Bank Nifty tanked 340.50 pts to 38,711.00. The top gainers on Nifty 50 were BPCL (up 3.09%), Titan (up 1.82%), Nestle India (up 1.63%), Britannia (up 1.43%) and SBI Life (up 1.01%) while Hindalco (down 4.69%), Tata Steel (down 3.96%), IndusInd Bank (down 3.83%), JSW Steel (down 3.63%) and ONGC (down 2.10%).
JSW Energy shares fell 2.27% to Rs 249.65 after the company’s board approved the allotment of 25,000 non-convertible debentures (NCD) on a private placement basis to raise Rs 250 crore. On October 28, 2022, the board also approved the NCD issue for the raising of funds up to Rs 2,500 crore by way of private placement.
Sectoral Indices
The sectoral indices were trading mixed. Bank Nifty plummeted 0.83%, PSU Bank fell 1.47%, Nifty IT was down 0.98%, Nifty Metal was down 3.13% and Nifty Auto was down 0.68%.
Asian and US stock markets
Asian markets were trading lower with China’s Shanghai composite index falling 0.28%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunging 1.12%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tanking 1.65% and South Korea’s KOSPI dipping 0.04%.
The US market ended the overnight session mostly in the red territory with Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.87%, S&P 500 dropping 0.70 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose marginally by 0.05%.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,271.25 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) acquired equities worth a net Rs 1,823.94 crore on 15 March, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
NSE F&O Ban
The National Stock Exchange has put GNFC and Indiabulls Housing Finance on its F&O ban list for 16 March. According to the NSE, stocks are prohibited in the F&O sector when they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock.