:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The frontline indices traded in a narrow range with minor gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above the 17,100 level. Barring the Nifty Metal index, all the sectoral on the NSE were in the green.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 99.31 points or 0.17% to 58,173.99. The Nifty 50 index added 25.80 points or 0.15% to 17,133.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.31% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.60%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,083 shares rose and 1,291 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

Investors look ahead to the outcome of US Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled to release later today. Market expects Fed to raise rates by 25-basis points amid the risk of financial contagion after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and concerns about the potential for a regional banking crisis.

Gainers & Losers:

HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.79%), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.57%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.08%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 1.75%) and Sun Phamaceutical Industries (up 1.02%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation of India (BPCL) (down 1.85%), Coal India (down 1.36%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 1.24%), NTPC (down 1.21%) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 1.05%) were the top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors rose 0.46% after the auto major announced that it will be implementing a price increase of up to 5% on its commercial vehicles (CV) starting from 1 April 2023. The decision to increase prices is a result of the company's efforts to comply with the more stringent BS6 phase II emission norms, the auto maker said.

H.G. Infra Engineering added 0.60% after the company announced that it has been declared as lowest bidder (L-1) by DYCE-C-CNB-Engineering/North Central Railway for the redevelopment of Kanpur Central Railway Station.

Emami jumped 8.10% after the company announced that its board will meet on Friday, 24 March 2023, to consider a share buyback.

VST Tillers Tractors surged 9.30% after the tractor maker said that it crossed a production of 5,00,000 power tillers from its manufacturing plant located at Malur in Karnataka.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest update on its rate hike decision.

Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday as widespread fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Federal Reserve, which is expected to conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday with a 25 basis-point hike to its policy rate.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that while authorities believe they've taken sufficient action to stem liquidity problems in the banking sector, the government is prepared to guarantee even more deposits if the banking crisis gets worse.