FIRST TRADE: Indices trade flat amid subdued Asian peers; Nifty near 22,500

Stock market today: Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty opened subdued on Monday, March 11, tracking the Asian peers' muted start ahead of key US inflation readings.

Last seen, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.03 per cent, or 10.10 points, at 74,129.49, and the NSE Nifty was up 0.06 per cent, or 16 points, at 22,507. 

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 traded flat with a negative bias, and the Small Cap 100 was muted. Nifty Bank was down 0.15 per cent at 47,764.8.

"The dominant trend in the market in the near term is likely to be the underperformance of the broader market, particularly the small-cap space. Since restraint imposed by some mutual funds by stopping lump sum investment in their small-cap schemes has failed to stem the flow of funds into the overvalued small-cap segment, SEBI has stepped in with regulatory action, asking the mutual funds to do stress tests in their mid- and small-cap schemes. More follow-up actions are likely from the regulator to prevent bubble formation in the broader market and its inevitable burst," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Dr. Vijayakumar added that since the market is scaling new highs consistently, the undertone of the market remains bullish and, therefore, investors should remain invested. Large caps are likely to witness buying on dips, while the broader market will face headwinds.

BUZZING STOCKS

IndiGo shares traded marginally higher after 3.9 per cent equity shares changed hands via multiple block deals. 

NLC India shares were up nearly 7 per cent after the company signed an MOU with the Government of Rajasthan today for the formation of a joint venture to set up a 125 MW lithium-based power plant and a 1,000 MW solar power plant. 

HG Infra Engineering shares were up over 2 per cent after the company bagged an order for a highway project worth Rs 610 crore from NHAI. 

Titagarh Rail Systems shares were up over 4 per cent after the company secured an order worth Rs 1,909 crore from the Railway Board. 

Rail Vikas Nigam shares were up over 4 per cent after the company received four orders totaling Rs 2,093 crore. 

Dwarikesh Sugar shares were up over 3 per cent after a buyback proposal was approved through a tender offer. 

Camlin Fine Sciences shares were up over 2 per cent after promoter Ashish Dandekar bought 48.11 lakh shares in the company. 

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian shares followed Wall Street lower on Monday while the dollar looked vulnerable ahead of a reading on U.S. inflation that could hasten or delay the start of global rate cuts.

The yen edged higher as data released on Monday showed Japan was not, in fact, in recession after economic growth was revised up to an annualised 0.4 per cent for the December quarter.

(With inputs from agencies.) 

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