Share Market LIVE: Sensex, Nifty likely to open higher today

Good Morning!

On Wednesday, the Indian equity market snapped two sessions of gaining streak following a broad-based selloff in global markets as the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated.

Sensex settled 778.38 points or 1.38 per cent lower at 55,468.90 and Nifty plunged 187.95 points or 1.12 per cent to 16,605.95.

What's next? Here's a look at the latest updates of the market today!

9:00 am: Pre-market comment by Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS

Today the elections in the major state of UP are entering the sixth phase and with the final phase just a few days away, the strong uptick in the fuel price is expected after the elections. 

Due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, the crude prices have reached over $116 per barrel and are expected to rise further. With the Russian invasion intensifying and the Ukrainian resistance strong, the end to the war is expected to take some time. 

Fitch has downgraded Russian sovereign debt to junk, the biggest on any European nation since world war II. This comes on the back of the economic sanctions imposed by the many world nations on Russia. 

Among some stock-specific actions, Sterlite tech has launched an industry-first end-to-end 5G enterprise solution. And UPL has approved the buyback of Rs 1,100 crores at Rs 875. With SGX Nifty giving flattish signals for the opening. 

The markets are expected to stay in the range for today, Support and Resistance for Nifty 16,500 and 16,800, and for the Bank Nifty it's expected to be around 35,000 to 35,700.

8:50 am: Oil prices jump, Brent above $116 per barrel on supply disruptions

Oil prices extended their rally on Thursday, with Brent rising above $116 a barrel, as trade disruption and shipping issues from Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis sparked supply worries while U.S. crude stocks fell to multi-year lows.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia have decided to maintain an increase in output by 400,000 barrels per day in March despite the price surge, ignoring the Ukraine crisis during their talks and snubbing calls from consumers for more crude.

8:40 am: Positive global cues

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled the central bank would likely raise interest rates less than some investors had feared.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.79% to end at 33,891.35 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.86% to 4,386.54. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.62% to 13,752.02.

Asian shares crept higher on Thursday after reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve helped Wall Street rally, though the war in Ukraine sent oil and resource prices spiraling ever higher in a grim omen for global inflation.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.4% and away from its recent 15-month low. Japan's Nikkei added 1.0%, while the rush to commodities lifted resource-rich Australia 0.9%.

8:35 am: FII and DII action

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 4,338.94 crore on March 2, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,061.70 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.

8:30 am: SGX Nifty

The Indian equity market is likely to open on a positive note as SGX Nifty was trading higher at 16,673.20.

The Singapore Stock Exchange is considered to be the first indication of the opening of the Indian market.

8:15 am: Market on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the Indian equity market snapped two sessions of gaining streak following a broad-based selloff in global markets as the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated.

Sensex settled 778.38 points or 1.38 per cent lower at 55,468.90 and Nifty plunged 187.95 points or 1.12 per cent to 16,605.95.

Maruti Suzuki was the top Sensex loser, falling 6 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, HDFC and HDFC Bank. Tata Steel, Titan, Reliance and Nestle India were among the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 5.54 per cent.  

BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices lost 39 points and 31 points, respectively. 

On the sectoral front, banking and auto shares led the losses today. BSE bankex fell 938 points to 40,697 and BSE auto plunged 706 points to 23,909. BSE metal index was the top sectoral gainer, rising 951 points to 21,735.