LIC shares have risen 6% to Rs 972, surpassing IPO price. The 17% wage hike may cost shareholders Rs 4,000 crore yearly. Sebi has confirmed employee involvement in front-running case which will potentially impact stock price.

ABFRL shares surged 10% on BSE as plans for Madura Fashion & Lifestyle's demerger into a separate entity were disclosed. The move aims to create two distinct companies for enhanced value creation opportunities in the fashion sector.

Jefferies maintained a buy rating on BEL but raised the target price to Rs 260 from Rs 225 earlier.

The Nasdaq closed slightly higher, along with the S&P 500 technology sector. An index of semiconductors jumped 1.2%.

Stocks that were in focus included names like Indus Towers, which rose 8.26%, HAL, which jumped 2.2%, and Prestige Estates, whose shares gained 7% on Monday.

Data on Monday showed U.S. manufacturing grew for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March as production rebounded sharply and new orders increased, highlighting the strength of the economy and casting doubts on the timing of Fed rate cuts.

Xiaomi shares touched their highest since January 2022 on the first day of trading after the Easter holiday break and the first since it launched its first-ever vehicle.

“L&T has given a breakout from a Cup & Handle pattern on the daily chart with good volumes. Traders can buy for a target of Rs 4000 in the next 1-2 months and a stop loss can be placed below Rs 3600,” Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com, said.

Out of this, Rs 66,806 crore was secured through QIPs. Notably, the peak for QIP fundraising was in FY21, with companies raising Rs 78,045 crore. FY23 saw a 6-year low equity fundraising.

India's microfinance sector is highly concentrated, with the top 10 states representing 85% of the market, leaving many districts and villages with limited access to credit. Sa-Dhan, a microfinance industry body, is investigating reasons for this disparity and aims to encourage lenders to reach under-penetrated areas. Despite recent growth in financial inclusion, many districts have a penetration ratio of less than 30%, indicating a need for expansion in these regions.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail said that its board has approved evaluation of a vertical demerger of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle business and list it as a separate entity on stock exchanges.

"Given the rapid changes taking place in today's world, especially in the areas of technology, innovation, business practices and growing complexities in the financial sector, the Reserve Bank is constantly evaluating the emerging trends and taking necessary policy measures to remain in sync with the evolving situation," Shaktikanta Das said at the RBI's 90th commemoration function on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented new guidelines on penal charges for loan accounts starting from April 1. These regulations prohibit commercial banks and finance companies from imposing penal rates on loan defaults or any non-compliance event. The guidelines aim to promote credit discipline and prevent banks from using penal charges as a revenue enhancement tool.

The Income Tax (I-T) department has deferred issuing final assessment orders on several foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for the financial year 2021-22, seeking additional information from jurisdictions like Mauritius. While the assessment period ended on March 31, 2024, the tax office has invoked provisions to extend the deadline, indicating efforts to gather more facts.

NSE's Nifty rose 135 points, or 0.61%, to close at 22,462 after touching an all-time high of 22,529 earlier in the day. BSE's Sensex rose 363 points, or 0.49%, to end at 74,014 off the record high of 74,254 during the day. The record closing levels for the Sensex is 74,119 and for the Nifty is 22,493 hit on March 7.

Domestic consumption, demand across several sectors, government spending on public infrastructure, and healthy balance sheets helped in improving credit profiles, rating agencies said. Major rating companies have recorded more upgrades than downgrades, although the pace moderated sequentially.

The L&T stock rose over 8% in a month but rallied more than 5% in the last 5 trading sessions. This helped the stock breakout from a Cup and Handle pattern on the daily chart. The breakout has opened room for the stock to head towards 4,000 levels. Traders can accumulate the stock above 3,700 levels. The neckline of the pattern was placed above Rs 3,650.

Wall Street indexes dropped due to manufacturing data affecting Fed rate cut expectations. ISM PMI growth impacted rate cut bets. 10-year Treasury yield rise influenced stocks. Powell's inflation remarks and megacap stocks' performance were notable.

The company posted a net loss of $58.2 million in the year ended December 2023, compared with a net profit of $50.5 million a year earlier. Revenue was $4.13 million last year, up from $1.47 million in 2022, it said in a filing.

Nasdaq outperformed Wall Street with megacap growth stocks rising on hopes of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut. Market optimism around AI and strong S&P 500 performance fueled gains, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield increased.

As inflation continues to trend downward and the Federal Reserve signals its willingness to cut interest rates this year, rates volatility dropped to the lowest level since February 2022, creating a broadly favorable environment for stocks. The S&P 500 gained 10% in the first quarter — its strongest start to the year since 2019 — and posted 22 new all-time highs in the first three months of 2024.

The smallcap index crashed by over 14% from the highs it touched in Feb, before making a marginal recovery in the subsequent trading sessions. The index is still down by 8%+ from the peak even after this recovery, reflecting the nervousness in the broader space.

Sensex rose 363 points while the Nifty closed at 22,462. Buying was seen in realty, metal, telecom and utilities while auto and consumer durables stock saw some selling pressure.

Stock markets started the new fiscal on a high with benchmark Sensex and Nifty scaling fresh record high levels in intra-day trade before settling in the green on Monday, backed by firm trends in Asian markets and foreign fund inflows. Extending its winning momentum to the third day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 363 points or 0.49% to settle at 74,014. The NSE Nifty climbed 135 points or 0.61% to 22,462. "Nifty could show a decisive upside breakout of 22,500 levels and the near-term upside target would be around 22,800. Immediate support is at 22,200 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities.

India's Consumer Houseware market, valued at Rs 34,300 crore in FY23 has sustained a 7.20% CAGR from FY15-23 despite disruptions like GST, demonetization, and Covid, according to a report by Kotak Securities. Here are the most valuable companies from the sector and their YTD performance:

Here's a look at key macro events that can impact the stock markets in April. (Source: Prabhudas Lilladher)

A healthy primary market where deals are continuously being done is the key hallmark of a well-functioning economy, which is aspiring to grow fast.

The proposed demerger and subsequent listing will enable the companies function as independent growth engines with distinct capital structures and parallel value creation opportunities, the Aditya Birla Group firm said in an exchange filing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.56 points, or 0.00%, at the open to 39,807.93.

Though Nifty 50 is placed at the crucial hurdle of around 22,500 levels, the overall chart pattern remains positive and we are unlikely to see any sharp decline from here. Any consolidation or dip could be a buying opportunity, said Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.

Markets regulator Sebi on Monday launched the new version of SCORES in a bid to strengthen the investor complaint redressal mechanism by introducing auto-routing of complaints and monitoring such grievances by designated bodies.

All listed Adani group stocks were in the limelight on Monday, with Adani Energy climbing over 8 per cent, as investors flocked to the counters amid a positive trend in the broader market.

In Monday's analysis, ETMarkets has identified the best-performing largecap mutual funds and their five top performing stocks in each scheme. These top five schemes have significantly outperformed the benchmark index Sensex, which saw a gain of approximately 25% in FY24. These schemes recorded gains of about 45-55% during the same period, a substantial margin above the index performance.Largecap mutual funds are funds that allocate at least 80% of their assets to the top 100 companies based on market capitalization. The best largecap funds are highly rated for providing good returns. These companies are usually industry leaders, offer steady returns, and are resilient during economic challenges.

Zerodha has a two-day at-home policy for employees to zone out, avoid commuting, and do focused work. The three-day work from office at the same time is aimed at collaboration across teams.

A short buildup is when there is a rise in open interest and volumes along with a decrease in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment. Short buildup means more people are expecting the prices to go down and creating short positions. In Monday’s trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh short positions. Here's the list:

From the Sensex pack, JSW Steel and Tata Steel were the top gainers, rising over 4% each. UltraTech Cement, NTPC, L&T, HDFC Bank, and Power Grid also closed with gains, while Titan, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, and IndusInd Bank ended with cuts.

An official factory survey on Sunday revealed that China's manufacturing activity had expanded for the first time in six months in March. The world's largest producer and consumer of copper saw its most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closing day-time trade 1.1% higher at 73,100 yuan ($10,110.79) per metric tonne.

In March's market correction, the initial correction was led by PSUs. Both PSU banks & non-bank PSU. Given that both sets of gained sharply, profit booking was natural. But if one looks at the broader contours it is clear that while the PSU banks corrected, the magnitude of the correction was not very high. For example, if after gaining over 100% in 2023, the stock corrects 10-15 %, it is a bullish sign and not bearish. If one looks at the table, in all time frames the selected PSUs have delivered positive returns except in one stock where 1-month returns are negative. This trend is normally witnessed when there is more delivery-based buying based on positive fundamental changes. On two counts, first the improvement in the actual operating matrix like credit off-take and a much better NPA situation. Second is the change in the valuation matrix on which the Street is evaluating them. As the economy continues to move on a path of higher growth, they probably are the best to play the theme, if you are able shed historical baggage which sometimes hit the Street.

Japanese yen's decline to 34-year low positively affects Indian automotive sector. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Motherson Sumi, and Sharp among the companies set to gain from the situation, with various experts highlighting the impact.

China stocks jumped on Monday, logging their biggest daily gain in a month, after the latest manufacturing activity data signalled that the economy's recovery is gaining traction, while the Hong Kong market was closed for a holiday.

India's benchmark indices rose to record highs on Monday, led by metal companies after upbeat data from China, while a moderation in a key US inflation reading also aided sentiment. Meanwhile, four Nifty50 stocks hit new 52-week highs in Monday's trade. Here's a list:

Author's late driving experience emphasises defensive driving, road safety, and the joy of investing while driving, highlighting the importance of controlling actions and minimising damage from mistakes.

The biggest gainer is expected to be the country's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), they told ETMarkets.

Prestige Estates Projects shares rose 5% to Rs 1,227 on NSE after signing a Rs 2,001 crore deal with ADIA and Kotak AIF. The stock outperformed Nifty with 200% returns in last 12 months.

The stock was trading 3% higher at Rs 261 on BSE at 12:13 pm. It has advanced 51% in the last six months and 250% in the last year. Technically, the stock's day RSI (14) is at 52.2.

SRF stock closed at Rs 2,557 on 28 March 2024, above crucial moving averages. Traders advised to target Rs 2,900-3,000 in 3-4 weeks.

Prestige Estates Projects shares rose 5% to Rs 1,227 on NSE after signing a Rs 2,001 crore deal with ADIA and Kotak AIF. The stock outperformed Nifty with 200% returns in last 12 months.

IRDAI's enhanced surrender charge regulations set surrender value requirements based on policy year. Exposure draft included threshold premiums for non-linked products.

The instruments in which the ratings have been revised upwards include long term bank facilities, long term/short term bank facilities, bonds, long term instruments, non convertible debentures (NCDs), tier II bonds, fixed deposits and commercial papers.

As per Trendlyne data, the average target price of the stock is Rs 2,841, which shows a downside of 17% from the current market prices. The consensus recommendation from 12 analysts for the stock is a 'Buy'.