Indices trade with minor gains; media shares in demand

The key equity indices traded with small gains in early afternoon trade, breaking a three-week losing streak, supported by positive domestic economic data that boosted investor confidence. The Nifty traded near the 22,600 level. Media shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

The upcoming trading week will be shorter due to holidays, with market participants closely monitoring both global and domestic events.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 158.24 points or 0.21% to 74,490.82. The Nifty 50 index added 40.50 points or 0.18%, to 22,593.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.47% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.04%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,469 shares rose and 2,437 shares fell. A total of 186 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's forex reserves dropped by $1.781 billion to $638.698 billion in the week ended February 28, the RBI said on Friday.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $493 million to $543.35 billion.

Gold reserves decreased by $1.304 billion to $73.272 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $27 million to $17.998 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF fell by $12 million to $4.078 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 2.28% to 13.78. The Nifty 27 March 2025 futures were trading at 22,652.95, at a premium of 59.95 points as compared with the spot at 22,593.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 March 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 58.4 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 74.9 lakh contracts was seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index rose 0.58% to 1,497.60. The index jumped 9.19% in four consecutive trading sessions.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 3.14%), Den Networks (up 1.8%), Tips Music (up 1.56%), Nazara Technologies (up 1.09%) and PVR Inox (up 0.25%) advanced.

On the other hand, Dish TV India (down 3.18%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 2.05%) and Sun TV Network (down 1.31%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

SPML Infra was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company signed a Rs 617.98 crore agreement with the Water Resource Department for a major turnkey irrigation project under the Konar Irrigation Project.

Active Clothing Co hit an upper limit of 5% after the company announced its plan to raise funds via a preferential allotment of 5 lakh warrants.

Narayana Hrudayalaya rose 1.21% after the firm's foreign subsidiary, Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with 2070 Health Inc., W Health Ventures GP LLC, and Everhope Oncology Private to establish and operate a network of healthcare centers in India, specifically for the treatment of cancer patients, with a focus on chemotherapy treatment.

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