The domestic equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in afternoon trade, supported by RBI's move to ease liquidity norms. Investor sentiment remained positive, aided by continued foreign institutional inflows. The Nifty traded above the 24,150 mark.

Barring the Nifty IT index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in green.

At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 237.40 points or 0.29% to 79,634.17. The Nifty 50 index rose 63.75 points or 0.26% to 24,189.30.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.04%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,585 shares rose and 1,297 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

In a relief to banks, the Reserve Bank of India has finalized its Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) guidelines, reducing the proposed additional run-off factor on internet and mobile banking-enabled retail deposits to 2.5%, effective 1 April 2026. Under the new norms, stable and less stable retail deposits will now attract run-off factors of 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively. The RBI also lowered the run-off rate on wholesale funding from non-financial entities like trusts and LLPs to 40% from 100%, aiming to better reflect funding stability. These changes are expected to improve banks' LCR by about 6% while ensuring continued compliance with minimum regulatory

The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8% (provisional) in March 2025, as compared to 3.4% in February 2025. The production of cement, fertilizers, steel, electricity, coal, and refinery products recorded positive growth in March 2025. India's core sector registered a moderate growth of 4.4% in FY25, easing from the stronger 7.6% expansion seen in FY24.

Gainers & Losers:

Jio Financial Services (up 1.92%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.85%), HDFC Bank (up 1.74%), ITC (up 1.64%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.51%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

IndusInd Bank (down 4.34%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.18%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 2%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.74%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.82%) were the major Nifty50 Losers.

IndusInd Bank fell 4.34% after reports surfaced that the lender had appointed Ernst & Young (EY) for a second forensic audit into a Rs 600 crore discrepancy in its microfinance portfolio.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra Logistics rallied 3.69% after the company's consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 6.75 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with net loss of Rs 12.85 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 8.19% YoY to Rs 1,569.51 crore in Q4 FY25.

Tata Power Company rose 0.14%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL), has signed a landmark power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Motors to co-develop a 131 MW wind-solar hybrid renewable energy project.

Indag Rubber slipped 2.95% after the company reported 66.45% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1.07 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 3.19 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 10.19% YoY to Rs 55.07 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Coal India added 0.52%. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to set up a coal-fired 2'800 MW Ultra Supercritical Power Plant in Jharkhand, with a total investment of Rs 16,500 crore.

Lotus Chocolate Company was locked in lower circuit of 5% after the company's standalone net profit tumbled 64.5% to Rs 1.42 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 4 crore posted in Q4 FY24. However, revenue from operations surged 139.21% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 157.45 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Aditya Birla Money was locked in lower circuit of 2% after the company reported 43.31% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 9.33 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 16.46 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income fell by 13.76% year on year (YoY) to Rs 99.89 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Alok Industries zoomed 17.73% after the company's consolidated net loss reduced to Rs 74.47 crore in Q4 FY25 from a net loss of Rs 215.93 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 35.14% year on year (YoY) to Rs 952.96 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Global Markets:

Dow Jones futures jumped 307 points, signaling a potential bounce-back for U.S. equities after a rocky start to the week.

Most European markets opened lower on Tuesday, amid ongoing concerns about the U.S. economy and global trade.

Most Asian markets advanced. But gains were kept in check after Wall Street stumbled, weighed down by President Trump intensifying his public pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell'again raising eyebrows over the Fed's independence.

Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Beijing flared up further. China slapped sanctions on several U.S. lawmakers, officials, and NGO leaders, accusing them of 'egregious behaviour' over Hong Kong-related issues. The move comes on the heels of U.S. sanctions imposed last month on Chinese and Hong Kong officials'an action that Beijing has strongly condemned, according to foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

Back in the U.S., all three major indexes slid overnight as investors digested Trump's Powell tirade and a lack of progress on global trade talks. The Dow tumbled 2.48%, the S&P 500 sank 2.36%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.55%.

Powell, for his part, reminded everyone last week that the Fed's independence is not just tradition'it's a matter of law. Markets are now trying to parse whether Trump's threats are just more rate-cut rhetoric or something more serious.

Adding to the global gloom, a leading brokerage trimmed its global growth forecast on Monday. Blaming the ongoing tariff drama and mounting uncertainty from U.S. trade policy, it now expects global GDP to grow just 2.8% in 2025 and 3% in 2026'down 30 and 20 basis points, respectively, from previous estimates. One-third of the downgrade stems from the U.S., with the rest spread across China, Japan, and emerging markets.

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