SENSEX, NIFTY50 indices trade on a flat note; Reliance Industries gains on $300 billion US refinery deal

The Indian equity benchmarks were little changed on Wednesday, March 11, as gains in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics and Adani Ports were offset by losses in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank. The SENSEX was trading in a band of 250 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,292 and a low of 24,218.

As of 9:23 am, the SENSEX was up 20 points at 78,226 and NIFTY50 index declined 3 points to 24,259.

Asian markets were trading higher on Wednesday after sentiment improved after a Wall Street Journal report suggested that International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed the largest ever release of crude oil reserves.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.94%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.26%, South Korea's KOSPI gained 3.3% and China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.06%.

Overnight, US stocks ended on a subdued note on Tuesday as investors looked for cues beyond Iran war while crude oil price steadied.

Back home, 10 of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading higher led by the NIFTY Metal index's 1.6% gain. NIFTY Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables, Realty and Pharma indices also rose between 0.5% and 1.3%.

On the flip side, banking, financial services and FMCG shares were facing selling pressure.

Broader markets were outperforming their larger peers as NIFTY Midcap 100 index advanced 0.55% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index gained 0.75%.

Shares of pipe, pumps, and EPC firms were trading higher as the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the extension of the Jal Jeevan Mission up to December 2028 with an enhanced outlay of ₹8.7 lakh crore, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The project was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to provide safe and adequate drinking water through tap connections to all households in rural India.

"The Cabinet approved the Ministry of Jal Shakti's proposal to restructure and reorient the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) from infrastructure creation to service delivery, supported by drinking water governance and an institutional ecosystem for a sustainable rural piped potable water supply," the minister said at a press conference.

Reliance Industries was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 1.6% to ₹1,432 after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will invest in a massive oil refinery project in the United States as part of a $300 billion deal that he described as the largest in the country’s history.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the project will see the first new oil refinery built in the US in 50 years at the Port of Brownsville in Texas.

Tata Steel, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Jio Financial Services, Bharat Electronics, Tech Mahindra, IndiGo, Coal India and Hindalco also gained between 1% and 1.5%.

On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Max Healthcare, Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals, ICICI Bank, Tata Consumer Products, Axis Bank and Eicher Motors were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,055 shares were advancing while 630 were declining on the NSE.