Indian equity indices Nifty50 and Sensex opened with a fresh record high after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assured likely rate cuts this year. M&M fell 4.2% due to an equity block deal. Hindustan Aeronautics signed an amendment to the LCA IOC contract.

Shares of M&M fell 4.25% as promoters sold partial stake in an equity block deal. PMSL, a promoter group entity, sold 0.75% of the company's stake, reducing promoter group's holding to 18.57%, according to reports. M&M's net profit in the December quarter jumped 61% YoY to Rs 2,454 crore. Shares have rallied about 49% in the last one year.

MVK Agro Food Product lists on NSE SME platform at 34% discount. IPO receives 8x subscription. Proceeds used for greenfield unit in Nanded. Engaged in sugar production and power generation with highest ethanol diversion. Revenues of Rs 60.12 crore, net profit of Rs 4.3 crore.

Mukka Proteins' shares debut with a 57% premium. The IPO received strong subscription. The company sells fish meal domestically and exports to multiple countries. It has a significant market share in India and recorded impressive revenue and profit growth.

Indo Count Industries is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of bed sheets with a capacity to produce 153 million metres of bedsheets. With the recent capex and sufficient capacity, the company is well placed to capture the business upcycle, says Sandeep Raina of Nuvama Professional Clients Group.

Indo Count Industries Ltd, the world's largest bed sheet manufacturer and exporter, has seen growth in revenue, operating profit, and net profit over the past 5 years. The company has gained market share from China and Pakistan and has robust demand in key markets.

The number of firms with more than 10% overseas shareholding rose to 275 on the BSE 500 Index as of December-end, versus 257 a year ago, according to a Bloomberg analysis of foreign institutional ownership data.

Shares of the iPhone maker are down 14% from a recent peak and have dropped 12% this year, compared with a gain of 7.42% for the Nasdaq 100 Index. Apple shares have been pressured by concerns over iPhone sales in China and a fine from the European Union.

Japan's Nikkei reversed earlier gains and the yen jumped past the 149 per dollar level to the highest in a month as momentum builds that a move from the Bank of Japan to end negative interest rates could come as soon as this month.

Stocks that were in focus included names like JM Financial, which fell 10.42%, Samvardhana, which declined 3.83%, and L&T Finance, whose shares dropped 7.31% on Wednesday.

In prepared remarks ahead of his congressional testimony, Powell said inflation had "eased substantially" since hitting 40-year highs in 2022, but that policymakers still needed "greater confidence" in its decline before rate cuts.

"It's hard to see, with the data that's come in, that I'd be saying more cuts than I had in December," Kashkari said. "It seems like at a base case I'd be where I was in December, or potentially one fewer, but I haven't decided."

​ The Scheme would provide a settlement opportunity to all the entities that have executed reversal trades in the stock options in the period between April 01, 2014 and September 30, 2015, against whom proceedings have been initiated and are pending before any authority, Sebi said.

“V-Guard has been inching gradually higher for the last six months, after breaking out from a 6-year long consolidation phase. Traders can buy for a target of Rs 410 in the next 2-4 months,” Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd., said.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das expects India's economic expansion in FY24 to be close to 8%, higher than official estimates. He clarified that recent RBI action was targeted at Paytm Payments Bank, not fintech companies. Internal surveys indicate high capacity utilisation and expectations of private investment picking up.

Even though an industry-wide consensus is yet to be reached on the subject, a number of AIF managers are taking such positions with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) having made it clear that it would like to put an end to deals that are cut to circumvent different financial regulations. Such practices, according to the regulator, could erode trust in the system.

On Monday, the Reserve Bank of India placed restrictions on the company, claiming deviations in lending processes. Since the ban, shares of IIFL Finance have fallen 36% to close at Rs 382.80 on the BSE Wednesday.

The Sensex gained 408.86 points, or 0.55%, to close at 74,085.99 after hitting a record 74,151.27. The Nifty rose 117.75 points, or 0.53%, to close at 22,474.05 after hitting an all-time high of 22,497.20. Both indices, which were trading lower earlier in the day, rebounded in the latter half.

Recent penalties on financial intermediaries by the RBI under Governor Shaktikanta Das reflect the regulator's intolerance towards non-compliance. The actions highlight serious violations, including non-compliance with regulations and deviation from good governance. The RBI is focused on improving compliance and transparency in the financial sector.

Mahanagar Gas shares plunged 15.4% to close at ₹1,324.7 Wednesday. Indraprastha Gas fell 6.15% and Gujarat Gas declined 6.74%.

The company has sought interest from foreign banks for what will be classified as a social loan because of Shriram's lending profile which includes loans to small entrepreneurs and vulnerable social groups.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday asked the financial services firm "to cease and desist, with immediate effect, from doing any form of financing against shares and debentures, including sanction and disbursal of loans against initial public offering (IPO) of shares as well as against subscription to debentures."

According to a recent note by Spark Private Wealth Management (PWM), the Reserve Bank of India classified Tata Sons as an 'upper layer' NBFC last year, which makes it mandatory for the company to list itself on the exchanges by September 2025.

Japan's Sumitomo Wiring Systems, a promoter in Samvardhana Motherson International, sold partial stake in the company through bulk deals on Wednesday.

In the past six months, more than 100 companies have issued convertible warrants or made preferential allotments to promoters, considered a sign of optimism among these shareholders about the outlook of their businesses and share valuations.

The V-Guard stock found support above the 280 level on the daily charts. However, it picked up momentum in the last week of February, which helped the stock break out from 6-month long consolidation. The stock witnessed a breakout from its previous swing high of Rs 335 in the last week of February. It hit a record high of Rs 350 on 4th March 2024. In terms of price action, the stock is trading below 5-DMA but above 10,30,50,100 and 200-DMA on the daily charts.

Wall Street's indexes rose as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expects a benchmark interest rate reduction. Inflation eased. Megacap growth and technology stocks rose. Treasury yields declined. AI darling Nvidia outperformed peers. U.S. private payrolls showed slightly less growth than expected.

The government has set the floor price for the same at Rs 212 a share. The floor price is at a discount of over 6% to the current market price of the stock.

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday introduced a third settlement scheme for entities involved in reversal trades in the stock options segment on BSE in 2014 and 2015.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 135.96 points, or 0.35%, at the open to 38,721.15.

Sumitomo has offloaded about 30 crore shares or 4.42% stake in the company at Rs 121 apiece, according to exchange data. This takes the deal value to Rs 3,630 crore. It is unclear who the buyers were in the transaction. Post the stake sale, Sumitomo's shareholding has come down to 9.73%.

AntFin entity AntFin Singapore Holding Pte sold 176,395,675 shares of Zomato at an average price of Rs 160.3 a share, bulk deals data on BSE showed. As of December end, AntFin Singapore Holding Pte Ltd held a 6.32% stake in the quick commerce services provider.

The demerger is subject to shareholders' and regulatory approvals, and the automaker expects to complete it within the next 12-15 months.

Benchmark Sensex and Nifty rebounded from early lows and settled at fresh record high levels in a volatile trade on Wednesday following buying in the private bank and select IT shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 409 points or 0.55% to settle at a new record high of 74,086. The index had opened lower and later fell to a day's low of 73,321 in the first half. The broader Nifty climbed 118 points or 0.53% to settle at a lifetime high of 22,474.05. "One may expect further upside in the coming sessions and the next upside levels to be watched around 22,800 and immediate support is at 22,300-22,250 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst, HDFC SecuritiesHere are 5 stock recommendations for Thursday:

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that continued progress on inflation "is not assured," though the central bank still expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate later this year.

One may expect further upside in the coming sessions and the next upside levels to be watched around 22,800 and immediate support is at 22,300-22,250 levels, said Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied over 400 points while the Nifty50 closed with gains of over 100 points to hit a fresh closing high. Sectorally, buying was seen in banks, IT, consumer durable, healthcare, and auto stocks while realty, power and oil & gas stocks saw some selling pressure.

Long unwinding refers to the selling of positions or stocks owned for a longer period either to book profit or to exit it in anticipation of impending bearishness. In Wednesday's trading session, five stocks witnessed top long unwinding. Here's the list:

Short covering refers to the buying of shares in order to close an existing short position or a position that has been sold. Short covering signals a shift in view on a security from extreme bearishness to bullishness. In Wednesday's trading session, five stocks saw top short covering. Here's the list:

Foreign institutional investors or FIIs continued their profit-booking spree on Dalal Street in February. Led by financials, 9 sectors bore the brunt of this selloff (Source: Ace Equity | Ritesh Presswala )

The shares of Mukka Proteins will debut on the exchanges on Thursday. Ahead of the listing, the company's shares are trading with a GMP of Rs 35.

LTIMindtree stock down 9% in 3 months. December quarter revenue growth limited to 0.8%. FY25, FY26 earnings estimates pruned. Revenue rose 1.2% sequentially in rupee terms. Operating margin shrank. Employee utilisation improved, attrition fell. $1.5bn order flow in quarter. Revenue visibility improves. Clients prioritize cost efficiency.

Indian equity indices Nifty50 and Sensex hit a lifetime high led by financials and IT stocks. Top gainers include Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, M&M, and HCL Tech. Investors await Powell's testimony and labor market data for rate cut clues.

In the last three days, one of the well-respected brokerage houses has come out with two reports in which they downgraded two sectors to underperform. One metal and other IT. As the market is under the profit booking phase, these stocks also declined, so an impression is created that probably what the brokerage is saying is correct. Before one takes action based on these reports, some questions need to be answered. First, why downgrade a sector now given the fact that it has been underperforming for more than two years? Secondly is this the first downgrade, such downgrades have been happening in the past, but stocks have not seen any serious correction. Also while brokerage is downgrading the stock, other news reports are indicating the worst might be over. So, probably it is time for contrarian investors to bring some stocks on their watch list. Stock Reports Plus, powered by Refinitiv, is a comprehensive research report that evaluates five key components of 4,000+ listed stocks - earnings, fundamentals, relative valuation, risk, and price momentum to generate standardized scores.

While they had been listed for a long period of time, Indian companies in agro chemical space got the real attention of the street only four years back. As many tailwinds appeared on the scene, there was strong re-rating of the whole sector. Typically, what happens when a sector gets re-rated is that valuations run ahead of time and there are too many eyes which are watching the sector. So, if there is even a little bit of disappointment, the selling pressure is also equally high. In the case of agro chemicals there were some real problems which came up soon after the re-rating took place. Chinese companies become overactive and dumping, globally inventory levels reaching very high for some segments. As every business has a cycle, it is worthwhile to bring stocks on your watchlist when the business cycle is down.

​ European shares were subdued early on Wednesday, ahead of key euro zone economic data and congressional testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while upbeat earnings offset losses on the index.

​China's securities regulator vowed to protect small investors' interests and strengthen regulation in the market, Wu Qing, head of the country's securities watchdog said on Wednesday.

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The deal triggered strong volume action in the stock with over 41.84 crore shares changing hands on the NSE around 10:50 am. The total traded value of the shares stood at Rs 5,071.24 crore.

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 Wednesday’s trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh short positions. Here's the list: