SENSEX recovers over 550 pts, NIFTY50 flat in noon session; IndiGo, Union Bank among buzzing stocks

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, recovered from their intraday lows to trade flat during the afternoon session on Monday, March 16, amid buying in auto and financial services stocks.

The SENSEX advanced by as many as 419.37 points to hit an intraday high of 74,983.29. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 touched the session’s peak of 23,284.65.

At 12:36 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading flat by 59.58 points, or 0.08%, to 74,504.34. It also recovered by 554.58 points from the session’s low. NSE’s NIFTY50 edged lower by 3.35 points or 0.01% at 23,147.75.

On Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth ₹10,716.64 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth ₹9,977.42 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

The top gainers of the NIFTY50 index included UltraTech Cement (3.79%), Grasim Industries (2.45%), Hindalco Industries (2.30%), HDFC Bank (1.81%) and JSW Steel (1.69%).

On the flipside, Bharat Electronics (-3.77%), Coal India (-2.21%), Wipro (-2.15%), Shriram Finance (-2%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (-1.87%) were among the top losers.

Buzzing stocks on March 16: Check list

Shares of Union Bank of India were trading in the green after it said that its board of directors has considered and approved the issuance of long-term bonds amounting to ₹20,000 crore in one or more tranches.

In a regulatory filing, the bank stated that its Committee of Directors for fund raising (Non-Capital), at a meeting held on Monday, approved the ₹20,000 crore fundraiser for infrastructure & affordable housing financing as per the Board-approved plan.

It added that out of the approved ₹20,000 crore, the bank may explore opportunities to raise ₹7,500 crore, comprising a base issue of ₹3,000 crore and a ₹4,500 crore green shoe option, with a 10-year tenor before March 31, 2026.

Its board also approved the issuance of green bonds or sustainable bonds amounting to ₹5,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The stock of Tejas Networks soared as much as 9.08% to an intraday high of ₹463 per equity share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, March 16, as it was selected for a 4G network expansion project in South Asia.

In an exchange filing on Monday, the company announced that it has secured a purchase order to supply its state-of-the-art 4G Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions for a mobile network in South Asia.

As part of the deal, the company's 4G multibrand radio products will be deployed at several locations across the mobile operator's network.

Shares of Omnitech Engineering rose as much as 5.24% to ₹230 per unit on the NSE, before slipping into the red, as its consolidated net profit climbed 172.79% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹22.26 crore in Q3FY26, compared to ₹8.16 crore in the year-ago period.

Its revenue from operations jumped 81.57% YoY to ₹134.4 crore for the reporting quarter, as against ₹74.02 crore in the December quarter of FY25.

The stock of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, advanced as much as 2.69% to the session’s peak of ₹4,270 apiece, after it said that it will be imposing a fuel charge on the ticket prices for both domestic (up to ₹425) and international routes (up to ₹2,300).

In the regulatory filing, IndiGo said that for routes within India and the Indian subcontinent, the fuel charges will increase the ticket prices by ₹425; for flights to the Middle East, the prices will rise by ₹900; for flights to South East Asia, China, Africa and West Asia, the prices will rise by ₹1,800.

“IndiGo is introducing a fuel charge on domestic and international routes, effective 00:01hrs on March 14, 2026,” the company informed the stock exchanges on Friday.

IndiGo’s plan to increase prices comes due to the rising price of jet fuel after the ongoing geopolitical issues in West Asia. This additional cost will be included in the ticket price for “all new bookings” effective from March 14.

Data Patterns’ shares declined as much as 4.55% to an intraday low of ₹3,067.20 apiece on the NSE, despite the company, on Sunday, stating that it has secured a work order worth ₹288 crore for the supply of 32 units of Doppler weather radars.

The company earlier incorrectly mentioned the order details. It earlier said that the company has received a contract for a value of ₹279 crore for the supply of 34 units of Doppler weather radars.

However, it later issued a clarification.

IDBI Bank stock tanked as much as 16.47% in the early trade to hit a low of ₹77 apiece on the NSE on Monday, as the strategic sale of IDBI Bank has likely been scrapped. This is because the financial bids put in by potential buyers were below the reserve price.

According to a report by PTI, the government and LIC were together looking to sell 60.72% in IDBI Bank and had floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) in October 2022. Financial bids came in on February 6.

The PTI report that quoted its sources said the financial bids for the IDBI Bank strategic sale have come in lower than the reserve price set by the inter-ministerial group on disinvestment headed by secretaries in the finance ministry.

According to sources, the report said, the bids for IDBI Bank have been opened, and they were below the reserve price set by the IMG and agreed to by the core group on disinvestment, which is chaired by the Cabinet secretary.

Shares of Bajel Projects rallied as much as 14.3% to the day’s peak of 159.99 per unit, as it secured an ‘ultra mega’ order from the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission.

In a regulatory filing, the company said on Friday that it has received an order worth more than ₹700 crore to establish a 400/220 kV AIS Sub-Station in the Saswas district of Pune, Maharashtra.