After opening the day on a positive note led by metal stocks, Indian share markets pared gains as the session progressed and ended flat.
Benchmark indices closed flat amid volatility as investors waited for minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy to get cues on the central bank's future rate-hike path.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 19 points.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 18 points (down 0.1%).
NTPC, Britannia, and Reliance Industries were among the top gainers today.
Adani Enterprises, Apollo Hospital, and Coal India on the other hand, were among the top losers today.
The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,845.5, up by 20 points, at the time writing.
Broader markets ended on a negative note. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.2% while the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.3% lower.
Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the power sector, and capital goods sector witnessing most of the buying.
On the other hand, stocks from the realty sector, and IT sector witnessed selling pressure. PSU bank stocks were also hit hard today.
Shares of Bosch and Cera Sanitary hit their 52-week high today.
Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...
Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a mixed note.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended lower by 0.2%, while the Hang Seng fell 1.7%. The Shanghai Composite ended higher by 0.5%.
The rupee is trading at 82.82 against the US$.
Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.2% lower at Rs 56,105 per 10 grams.
Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 65,588 per kg.
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In news from the ports sector, shares of Adani Ports rose 1% in intraday trade.
The shares gained after reports suggested that Adani Ports & SEZ has paid mutual funds' due amount of Rs 15 billion (bn) on Monday.
It has also promised to repay Rs 10 bn more in March 2023 as the embattled conglomerate mapped a comeback strategy after a sellout triggered by a damning report by US-based Hindenburg Research.
This part prepayment was done from the existing cash balance of the business operations.
The conglomerate is hoping to claw back the narrative to pay back and calm jittery investors who were spooked by allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulations.
Adani group has denied all the allegations. The firm has already brought in Kekst CNC as a global communications advisor to help change the narrative building in international media.
It has also engaged American law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to fight against the short seller's allegations.
Adani Ports has the potential to bounce back the fastest among all other group companies. To know why, check out the only Adani stock worth looking at.
Moving on to news from the defence sector, shares of BEML rose 3% today.
BEML shares gained on 21 February 2023 after the company signed a contract with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for Bahrain Metro Rail Project.
The company signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 20 February 2023 with a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)-led special purpose vehicle, shortlisted for the Bahrain Metro Rail Project Phase-1.
As part of the pact, BEML will be responsible for manufacturing and supply of metro rolling stock.
It will allow BEML to leverage its manufacturing expertise and technology to optimise business operations for urban transportation of metro rolling stock and expand on a global level.
Apart from this, the company signed multiple agreements at Aero India with companies such as Bharat Electronics, Indian Navy, many others for technology transfer, and Hexagon Technologies last week.
Speaking of the defense sector, note that the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has emphasized the need of self-reliance in security space.
Given the increasing focus on self-reliance, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), has set a target of doubling the defense production to US$ 25 bn by 2025.
To boost this the Indian government is likely to spend a massive US$130 bn over the next 7-8 years on the modernization of the armed forces.
We believe the defence sector could produce the next set of multibagger stocks over the long run.
Moving on to the news from the Initial public offerings (IPO) space, Macfos IPO received strong response.
The IPO of SME company Macfos has seen strong demand from retail investors and NIIs since its opening on Friday, 17 February 2023.
It received 105 times subscription with 145 times bid from retail buyers, 10x from Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) buyers, and 127x from Non Institutional Investors (NII) buyers, as per the BSE data.
The total reservation of Macfos IPO has been fixed at 2.3 m shares, of which 0.1 m shares are for anchor investors, 1.1 m shares for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 0.3 m shares for non-institutional investors (NIIs) and 0.8 m shares for retail investors.
The offer comprises an Offer for Sale (OFS) by the selling shareholders. The shares will list on BSE SME platform on 1 March 2023.
Macfos shares are trading at a grey market premium (GMP) of Rs 76 in the grey market today.
Macfos is an e-commerce-based Company marketing a broad range of 12000+ electronic components through its website & mobile application Robu.in.
For more details, check out the current IPOs and upcoming IPOs on our website.
And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
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