As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 1,245.05 points or 1.72% to 73,745.35. The Nifty 50 index surged 355.95 points or 1.62% to 22,338.75.

The Sensex clocked an all-time high of 73,802.55 while the Nifty hit record high of 22,348.40 in late trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.89% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.68%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,387 shares rose and 1,451 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 2.16% to 15.24.

The National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange will hold a special live trading session on 2 March 2024 to switch to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site. There will be two sessions ? the first from 9:15 am to 10 am and the second from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Economy:

India?s economy grew much faster than expected in the October to December quarter. Data showed GDP grew 8.4% in the third fiscal quarter on the back of higher private consumption and strong manufacturing and construction activity. The October-December quarter reading was also higher than the 7.6% growth clocked in the prior three months. The government raised its GDP growth outlook for fiscal year 2023-24 to 7.6% from 7.3% forecast earlier.

Meanwhile, India's eight core sectors posted a growth of 3.6% in January, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on February 29. In December 2023, core sector growth had printed in at 3.8%. The commerce ministry, on February 29, revised this figure up to 4.9%.

Separately, the Central government's fiscal deficit widened to Rs 11.03 lakh crore in April 2023-January 2024 from Rs 9.82 lakh crore in April-December, data released by the Controller General of Accounts showed on February 29.

Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers? Index (PMI) recovered further from December's 18-month low, rising from 56.5 in January to 56.9 in February. Production levels were raised in tandem with a further steep increase in inflows of new orders, besides advanced technology and buoyant demand conditions.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Mukka Proteins received 32,99,04,005 bids for shares as against 5,60,00,435 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:28 IST on Friday (01 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 5.89 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (29 February 2024) and it will close on Monday (04 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 26 to 28 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 535 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Bharat Highways InvIT received 10,57,27,500 bids for shares as against 10,30,12,800 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:30 IST on Friday (01 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 1.03 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (28 February 2024) and it will close on Friday (01 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 98 to 100 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index surged 3.62% to 8,208.50. The index rallied 4.56% in two trading sessions.

Steel Authority of India (up 9.74%), Tata Steel (up 6.46%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 6%), Welspun Corp (up 4.62%) and JSW Steel (up 4.51%) advanced. Among the other gainers were Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 3.24%), National Aluminium Company (up 3.11%), Hindalco Industries (up 3.03%), NMDC (up 2.28%) and Jindal Stainless (up 1.53%).

February Auto Sales :

Tata Motors rose 2.78% after the auto major's domestic and international sales for February 2024 stood at 86,406 vehicles, up 8.41% as compared to 79,705 units sold in February 2023.

Bajaj Auto added 1.61% after the company reported 24% increase in total auto sales to 3,46,662 units in February 2024 as compared with 2,80,226 sold in February 2023.

Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 2.21% after the company announced that it has recorded 24% rise in total vehicle sales to 72,923 units in February 2024 from 58,801 units sold in the same period last year.

Eicher Motors advanced 1.42% after the company announced that it has sold 75,935 motorcycle units in February 2024, which is higher by 6% as compared with 71,544 units in February 2023.

Ashok Leyland rose 1.18%. The commercial vehicle manufacturer sold 17,464 vehicles in February 2024, which is lower by 6% as compared with 18,571 units sold in February 2023.

Escorts Kubota added 1.29% after the tractor manufacturer said that its agri machinery business division sales declined 17.02% to 6,481 units in February 2024 as against 7,811 units sold in February 2023.

Maruti Suzuki India jumped 3.01% after its total sales grew by 14.59% to 197,471 units in February 2024 as against 172,321 units recorded in February 2023.

TVS Motors Company rallied 4.70% after the company sold 368,424 units in February 2024, registering a growth of 33% as against 276,150 units sold in February 2023.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Coal India rose 1.98% after the company?s coal production increased 8.7% to 74.8 million tonnes (MT) during the period as compared with 68.8 MT produced in same period last year.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rallied 4.39% after the company has commissioned its first indigenously manufactured electrolyser at the green hydrogen plant in Hazira, Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the EPC major announced that it received major contract from the Ministry of Defence for the supply of high power radars (HPR) to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

NTPC added 2.38% after the Unit-2 of 660 MW capacity of North Karanpura super thermal power project, (3 x 660 MW) successfully completed trial operation.

Landmark Cars zoomed 5.17% after the company informed that it has received a letter of intent from MG Motor India for opening a dealership in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

One 97 Communications (Paytm) was locked in upper circuit of 5% after the company and its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL), have introduced additional measures to strengthen their approach towards independent operations of PPBL. Paytm and PPBL have mutually agreed to discontinue various inter-company agreements with Paytm and its group entities.

Borosil Renewables rallied 5.96% after the securities issue committee of its board approved the proposal of raising funds through issue of equity shares on a rights issue basis for upto Rs 500 crore.

Waaree Renewable Technologies was locked in upper circuit of 5% after the company received letter of intent (LOI) from North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for aggregating Rs 1,401 crore.

Servotech Power Systems rose 0.76% while Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) added 2.33% after the company received an order of 1400 DC fast EV chargers from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and other EV charger OEMs.

Global Markets:

Most of the European stocks edged higher on Friday after February?s flash euro zone inflation reading. The headline consumer price index fell to 2.6% from January?s 2.8%.

While Asian stocks traded mixed as investors digested manufacturing data from the mainland. Japan?s Nikkei 225 index hit a fresh record high. South Korea markets were shut for the Movement Day holiday.

China?s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in February, official figures on Friday showed. Data from China?s National Bureau of Statistics showed manufacturing PMI fell to 49.1 in February from 49.2 in January. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI, however, edged up to 50.9 in February from 50.8 in the previous month.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs as tech and chip stocks rallied. The U.S. personal consumer expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge for inflation, rose 0.3% in January from a month earlier. The core PCE price index rose 0.4%.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News