At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 810.30 points, or 1.08%, to 76,273.41. The Nifty 50 index jumped 255.30 points, or 1.11%, to 23,162.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.61%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,480 shares rose and 1,431 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 3.23% to 12.87.

Economy:

The RBI's March Bulletin highlights the Indian economy's strong resilience and growth momentum despite global turbulence. Key factors include robust sectoral performance, rising consumption, and increased government spending. The National Statistics Office projects a steady 6.5% growth for 2024-25, supported by a 6.2% real GDP expansion in Q3. India's 2023-24 growth, excluding the post-COVID rebound, was the highest in over a decade, indicating stability. Both manufacturing and services sectors show positive trends, with increased activity and employment, further reinforcing the economy's positive trajectory.

Gainers & Losers:

Bharti Airtel (up 3.59%), Titan Company (up 3.46%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.88%), Eicher Motors (up 2.73%), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (up 2.49%) were the major Nifty gainers.

Bajaj Finance (down 1.04%), Indusind Bank (down 0.56%), UltraTech Cement (down 0.54%), ITC (down 0.14%), and Trent (down 0.10%) were the major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GPT Infraprojects surged 6.74% after the company announced that it had been declared the L1 (lowest) bidder for an order worth Rs 481.11 crore from CAO Construction, South Eastern Railway, Kolkata, for construction work.

Can Fin Homes added 2.66% after the company appointed Prashanth Joishy as chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel (KMP), effective from 20 March 2025. Joishy, confirmed as the next CFO by the company on March 15, will take charge on an interim basis. He shall hold the office until a permanent CFO is onboarded.

Marksans Pharma added 2.95% after the company announced that its Goa-based manufacturing facility has been approved by the Australian TGA for the manufacture of pharmaceutical formulations for Australian markets.

KPI Green Energy rose 1.98% after the company's subsidiary Sun Drops Energia, received letters of award (LoA) for the development of solar power projects with a total capacity of 14.90 MW under the captive power producer business segment.

Suraj Estate Developers rose 0.69%. The company said that it has acquired a land parcel measuring 390 square meters (4,200 square feet) at Shivaji Park, Dadar, Mumbai, for a total consideration of Rs 4.75 crore, fully paid, including stamp duty and registration charges.

Hyundai Motor India shed 0.74%. The company announced that it will increase prices up to 3%, which will be effective in April 2025. The company stated that the price hike is due to rising input costs, increased commodity prices, and higher operational expenses, among other factors. The quantum of price increase will vary based on the variants and models.

Global Markets:

European markets declined on Thursday as investors awaited monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, and Sweden's Riksbank.

Average wages in the U.K. increased 5.9% year on year across the November 2024 to January 2025 period, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. The rate was steady in the previous three-month period and in line with the forecast. Wage growth, including bonuses, came in at 5.8%. The average regular figure was 6.1% for the private sector and 5.3% in the public sector.

Most Asian stocks traded mixed as China's central bank kept interest rates steady, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept benchmark rates unchanged overnight.

The People's Bank of China kept the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.1% and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%, where they have been since a quarter-percentage-point cut in October. The rate decision follows the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to hold benchmark interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Fed maintained its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range and signaled that two quarter-point rate cuts are likely later this year, consistent with its forecast from three months ago. This came even as the central bank, the Fed, cut its US economic growth forecasts and raised projections

As per the Fed's quarterly economic projections, real GDP growth is expected to slow to 1.7% by the end of 2025, down from the 2.1% forecast in December. The unemployment rate is projected to rise slightly to 4.4%, compared to the previous estimate of 4.3%. Core inflation is now expected to end the year at 2.8%, up from the prior forecast of 2.5%.

Trump kept up his threats of reciprocal tariffs coming in April 2'a move that is likely to draw more retaliation from major global economies and spark a renewed trade war.

US stocks rallied following the decision amid encouragement that further cuts could be ahead. The Dow jumped 0.92%, and the S&P 500 surged just over 1.08%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.41%.

Tesla stock rose over 4% after advancing its robotaxi plans in California, and Boeing Co. jumped 7% on positive operational performance updates from its CFO.

Investors will monitor weekly jobless claims data on Thursday, as well as the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing survey and a report on existing home sales.

On the quarterly earnings front, Darden Restaurants, Nike, FedEx, and Micron Technology are set to report Thursday.

SoftBank announced on Wednesday its plan to acquire chip designer Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of the year

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