Sensex, Nifty open higher; UTI AMC rises 8%; Biocon drops 5%

Positive global cues pushed the benchmark indices higher on Tuesday. Benchmark equity indices were trading higher at open but the gains were capped amid the two major concerns including banking crisis and interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The two-day policy meeting of the US Fed will kick off today and the central bank will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday. The rate hike path, if any, will be keenly watched by the traders amid the banking crisis in the US and Europe after a series of bank fallout. At 9.25 am, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex was trading 218.57 points, or 0.38 per cent, higher at 57,847.52, whereas NSE's Nifty50 gained 64.05 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 17,052.45. Broader markets rose in tandem with headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices were up about half a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX shed over 2 per cent to 15.67-level. The index started the week on a subdued note and inched southward as the session progressed. Supportive efforts from the lower band of the falling channel amid oversold conditions helped the index to recoup some intraday losses. Daily price action resembles a hammer like candle, highlighting supportive efforts emerging at key support of 16800, said ICICIDirect Research. "Going ahead, sustainability above the immediate hurdle of 17,200 would pave the way for a meaningful pullback towards 17,600 by the end of March 2023, as its confluence of 200 days EMA coincided with last week’s high. Thus, traders should refrain from creating aggressive short positions," it said. On the sectoral front, the Nifty IT index shed about a per cent. Following it, only Nifty FMCG and Pharma indices were trading lower. Nifty Media index jumped over a per cent, whereas Nifty PSU index was up a per cent. Nifty Metal and Financial Services indices posted decent gains. In the Nifty50 pack, Bajaj Finance rose 2 per cent each, followed by Reliance Industries. Titan Company, Adani Enterprises, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Life Insurance were up more than a per cent each. Among the losers, Tech Mahindra jumped about 2 per cent, followed by HCL Technologies, ITC and Power Grid which declined a per cent each. Two data points indicate the current market mood. The stock price of the US bank First Republic crashed by 40 per cent yesterday and gold zoomed by 2 per cent. Fears of contagion in the global banking system is causing the nervous selling in vulnerable banking stocks and strength in gold is indicative of the flight to safety, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. "Fears of banking contagion hitting equity markets have aggravated FII selling, which has reached a cumulative Rs 11,757 crores in the last 11 days. FII’s net short position is at record highs indicating negative expectations. Even though the current texture of the market is sell on rallies, the huge short position may trigger a short-squeeze if the Fed decides to pause in the meeting tomorrow," he said. In the broader markets, UTI Asset Management Company jumped about 8 per cent, whereas Stove Kraft increased more than 7 per cent during the early trade. Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy rose more than 6 per cent at the opening tick. IDBI Bank was up 5 per cent. On the downside, Capri Global Capital plunged more than 5 per cent as its buyback opened today, while Orient Bell declined more than 5 per cent. Biocon, which was added to the F & O ban list today, declined about 5 per cent hitting its new 52-week lows.

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