Sensex and Nifty Closing Update, 21 March 2025: Sensex up by 600 points, Nifty up by 165 points

The Indian stock market extended its gains for the fourth consecutive session on March 21, 2025, with both the Sensex and Nifty closing higher. Positive global cues and strong performances in key sectors contributed to the market's upbeat sentiment.

Market Wrap-Up -March-21-2025

The BSE Sensex surged 600 points to close at 76,955, while the NSE Nifty gained 165 points, settling at 23,356. The rally was broad-based, with gains seen across various sectors.

Key Highlights

• Global IT Stocks in Focus: Indian IT stocks, including Infosys and Wipro, were closely watched following Accenture's second-quarter earnings report.

Top Gainers

• Sun Pharma: Led the gains as healthcare stocks remained in focus due to strong demand, up 2.87%. The stock closed at ₹1,657.70.
• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL): Gained on optimism surrounding defense contracts, up 2.23%. The stock closed at ₹276.87.
• BPCL: Benefitted from stable crude oil prices, up 2.13%.The stock closed at ₹262.40.
• Trent: Advanced amid strong retail demand, up 1.94%.
• ICICI Bank: Climbed, supported by robust financial performance, up 1.92%.

Top Losers

• IndusInd Bank: Plunged amid concerns over its derivative portfolio, down 23.01%. The stock closed at ₹693.30.
• Infosys: Faced pressure after Accenture's results, down 2.94%.
• Wipro: Was dragged down by the overall IT sector slump, down 2.08%.
• Bajaj Finserv: Experienced profit-booking, down 2.06%.
• Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M): Declined due to various factors, down 1.80%.

Market Outlook

Despite global uncertainties, the Indian stock market has shown resilience, driven by positive domestic economic indicators and sustained foreign institutional inflows. Investors are advised to remain cautious and monitor global developments.

Market Overview

The BSE Sensex rose by 540 points, reaching 75,865.57 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 increased by 141.7 points to 23,050. ​On Thursday, March 20, 2025, the Indian stock market exhibited a positive trend at the opening, with both the Sensex and Nifty indices trading in the green. This optimistic start was attributed to positive cues from Asian markets and a strong overnight recovery on Wall Street, which followed the US Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates.

Top Gainers in Nifty 50

The top gainers in the Nifty 50 were Bharti Airtel, M&M, TCS, HCL Tech, and Eicher Motors. Earlier, at 11:23 (IST), it was highlighted that Bharti Airtel was the top gainer, with its shares trading 2.15% higher in intraday trading. The stock had also gained nearly 5% year-to-date.

Top Losers in Nifty 50

The top losers in the Nifty 50 were Bajaj Finance, Trent, Apollo Hospital, L&T, and Tata Steel. 

Market Breadth on NSE Indices

• NIFTY 50: 38 advances and 12 declines
• NIFTY NEXT 50: 33 advances and 17 declines
• NIFTY MIDCAP SELECT: 18 advances and 7 declines
• NIFTY BANK: 10 advances and 2 declines
• NIFTY FINANCIAL SERVICES: 12 advances and 8 declines

This data indicates that, at that particular time, the number of advancing stocks outweighed the declining stocks across these major NSE indices.

Market Open

Indian benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, started the day on a subdued note amid weak global signals. At the opening bell, the Sensex dipped by 242.29 points, or 0.32%, to settle at 76,105.77, while the Nifty50 declined by 44.60 points, or 0.19%, to 23,146. Market sentiment appears to be influenced by global trends, particularly concerns over US trade tariffs, and investors are closely monitoring developments in the upcoming negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement as well as the trading patterns of foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

Factors Influencing Market Sentiment

• IT stocks in focus: Indian IT stocks such as Infosys, Wipro, and TCS are attracting attention following Accenture’s second-quarter report. The global IT services firm achieved a 5% increase in revenue year-on-year for the December-February period, reaching $16.7 billion. Additionally, Accenture revised its full-year revenue outlook, now forecasting growth between 5-7% instead of the previous 4-7%.
• Japan’s Inflation Cools down: In Japan, inflation appears to be cooling. In February, the headline inflation rate decreased to 3.7% year-on-year from January’s two-year high of 4%. Meanwhile, core inflation—which excludes fresh food prices—fell to 3% from 3.2% the previous month.

Global Backdrop:

• US Dollar: The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the dollar’s performance against a group of six major foreign currencies, was recorded at 103.85 on Friday morning. This index serves as a measure of the US dollar's relative strength or weakness against key global currencies. Additionally, the rupee closed at 86.37 per US dollar on March 20.

• Gold Rate Today: In India, according to Goodreturns, gold prices remained stable on March 21. The 24-carat gold was priced at Rs 90,067 per 10 grams, 22-carat gold at Rs 83,110 per 10 grams, and 18-carat gold at Rs 68,000 per 10 grams.

• Crude Oil: Crude oil prices saw a slight increase on Friday morning, with WTI crude rising by 0.62% to $68.48 per barrel, while Brent crude edged up by 0.52% to $72.38 per barrel.

Stocks in Focus:

• Manappuram Finance: Approved a ₹4,385 crore preferential allotment to Bain Capital by issuing 9.29 crore shares at ₹236 each to BC Asia Investments XXV and an equal number of warrants to BC Asia Investments XIV.
• Hindustan Unilever (HUL): Received board approval to acquire a 14.3% stake in Lucro Plastecycle, a leader in recycled flexible plastics, to boost sustainable packaging and plastic circularity.
• Hindalco: Announced a ₹45,000 crore investment plan across its aluminium, copper, and speciality alumina businesses, alongside unveiling a new brand identity.
• Hero MotoCorp: Plans to invest up to ₹525 crore in Euler Motors for a 32.5% stake in its electric three-wheeler venture, with finalisation expected by April 30, 2025; also approved setting up a CSR-focused company.
• Bajaj Finance: Appointed Rajeev Jain as vice chairman and executive director for a three-year term starting April 1, 2025, and re-designated Anup Kumar Saha as managing director until March 31, 2028 (pending shareholder approval).
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): Partnered with The Cumberland Building Society in the UK to modernise its core banking system using TCS BaNCS for Core Banking, Digital Home Lending, and Quartz for Compliance.
• TVS Motor Company: Approved an interim dividend of ₹10 per share (totaling ₹475 crore) for FY ending March 31, 2025, and appointed Peyman Kargar as Head of International Business effective April 1, 2025.
• RailTel: Secured a work order worth ₹16.89 crore from the Ministry of Defence for optical fibre cable laying.
• Zomato: Received approval to change its name to Eternal Limited, effective March 20, 2025.
• Other Developments:
• Asian Paints’ subsidiary sold its Indonesia operations for SGD 6.8 million (≈₹44 crore).
• Lloyds Metals and Energy received environmental clearance for expansion in Maharashtra.
• Piramal Pharma and BrePco Biopharma obtained UK MHRA approval for Naeoatricon.
• JSW Energy raised ₹800 crore through a private placement of non-convertible debentures.
• CONCOR placed an order worth ₹192 crore for BLSS wagons.

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