Domestic shares rallied for the third straight session on Wednesday led by gains in banks, financials and metal stocks. The Nifty settled near 15,250 level. Barring the Nifty Auto index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Stocks rallied across the globe as easing US Treasury yields fuelled demand for riskier assets.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 1,147.76 points or 2.28% at 51,444.65. The Nifty 50 index soared 326.50 points or 2.19% at 15,245.60.

Bajaj Finserv (up 5.18%), Bajaj Finance (up 4.47%), ICICI Bank (up 3.50%), HDFC (up 3.43%) and Infosys (up 3.03%) were major market movers.

The rally was broad based. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.45% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.34%. Both these indices lagged the benchmarks.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,844 shares rose and 1,157 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

The Sensex has climbed 4.78% and the Nifty has jumped 4.93% in the three consecutive sessions.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,47,51,575 with 25,49,260 deaths. India reported 1,70,126 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,57,346 deaths while 1,08,12,044 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

IHS Markit India Services PMI rose to 55.3 in February 2021 from 52.8 in January 2021. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index pointed to the sharpest rate of expansion in output in one year. Moreover, the latest reading extended the current growth sequence to five months. Survey participants linked the upturn to improved demand and more favourable market conditions. New work intakes expanded for the fifth straight month, and at the fastest pace over this sequence. According to monitored companies, marketing efforts and increases in new clients led to sales growth.

Meanwhile, the auction of telecom spectrum ended on Tuesday (2 March) with total bids of Rs 77,814.80 crore for the airwaves. Telecommunications Secretary Anshu Prakash said, incremental bids for Rs 668.20 crore were made on the second and concluding day of spectrum auction.

The bidding took place for spectrum in 800-Megahertz, 900-Megahertz, 1,800-Megahertz, 2,100 Megahertz and 2,300 Megahertz bands. The total quantity of spectrum for which right to use has been acquired in these bands is 855.60 Megahertz.

Three bidders, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance JioInfocomm participated in the auction. A total quantity of 2,308.80-Megahertz spectrum was put to auction, including spectrum that is expiring up to December this year.

Spectrum Usage Charges for the spectrum acquired in this auction will be payable at the rate of 3% of adjusted gross revenue of the licensee, excluding revenue from wireline services.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.233% as compared with 6.236% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 72.72, compared with its close of 73.37 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement fell 1.03% to Rs 45,077.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.05% to 90.74.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2021 settlement rose 99 cents at $63.69 a barrel. The contract fell 99 cents, or 1.55% to settle at $62.70 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia rallied across the board on Wednesday amid optimism that more imminent US stimulus will energise the global economic recovery. The gains also came as benchmark US government bond yields continued to stabilise after last month's sell-off.

The Dow Jones Futures were trading 214 points trading higher, indicating a strong opening in US markets today.

China's Caixin/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 51.5 for February, a decline from January's reading of 52. PMI readings above 50 represent expansion while those below that level signify contraction.

Japan's services sector extended declines in February for a 13th straight month. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at a seasonally adjusted 46.3.

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday led by technology names, as the market gave back some of the strong gains from the previous session.

In coronavirus developments, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the country will have a large enough supply of coronavirus vaccines to inoculate every adult in the nation by the end of May - two months earlier than previously expected.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty Metal index rose 3.34% to 4,058.60. The index has risen 6.17% in three sessions.

APL Apollo Tubes (up 7.48%), Tata Steel (up 5.34%), NALCO (up 4.82%), Hindalco Industries (up 3.91%), JSW Steel (up 3.27%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.22%), NMDC (up 1.94%), Coal India (up 0.98%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.29%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) jumped 4.52% to Rs 2201.35 after the company said that its telecom unit Reliance Jio has successfully acquired the right to use spectrum in all 22 circles across India. RIL said that the payment to be made for the right to use this technology agnostic spectrum for a period of 20 years is Rs 57,123 crore.

With these acquisitions, Jio's total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly, by 55%, to 1,717 MHz (uplink+ downlink). The acquired spectrum can be utilised for transition to 5G services at the appropriate time, where Jio has developed its own 5G stack, it added.

Engineers India (EIL) spurted 2.13% after the company secured a deal from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) for capacity expansion of Panipat Refinery to 25 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). The total awarded order value is around Rs 600 crore with a total project schedule of 40 months for mechanical completion.

Bank of Baroda (BoB) rose 2.88% after the state-run lender said it has closed the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue, which was conducted to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore. The capital raising committee approved the issue price of Rs 81.70 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 79.70), which is at a discount of 5% (Rs 4.28 per equity share) to the floor price of Rs 85.98 apiece, BoB said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The issue opened on 25 February 2021.

IRCON International slumped 6.90% to Rs 91.10 after the offer for sale (OFS) opened for non-retail investors today, 3 March 2021. Through the OFS, the Government of India proposes to sell up to 4,70,25,787 equity shares (representing 10% stake), with an option to sell an additional 6% stake or 2,82,15,473 equity shares in case of oversubscription. The floor price for the OFS is Rs 88 per equity share, at a 10.07% discount to IRCON's closing price of Rs 97.85 on Tuesday, 2 March 2021. The OFS opened on Wednesday (3 March 2021) for non-retail investors, while both retail as well as non-retail investors will be able to subscribe on Friday (4 March 2021).

As on 15:30 IST, the OFS received subscription for 10,84,93,968 shares. It was subscribed 329.59% on the base non-retail total offer size of 3,29,18,051 shares and 205.99% on the total non-retail total offer size (base size + green shoe) of 5,26,68,882 shares.

Ion Exchange (India) fell 0.29% after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his firm Rare Investments on Tuesday sold an aggregate 5.38 lakh shares, or 3.6% stake, in the company via bulk deals on the BSE. Meanwhile, Plutus Wealth Management bought 4.75 lakh equity shares (3.24% equity) of Ion Exchange (India) at Rs 1,220.75 per share.

RPP Infra Projects jumped 5.37% after the company received letter of acceptance for four projects worth Rs 1000 crore.

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