After opening the day marginally lower, Indian share markets reversed the trend as the session progressed and ended the day higher.

Shrugging off early weakness, equity markets rebounded and held their gains through the day on Friday.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 190 points (up 0.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 72 points (up 0.3%).

Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, and UPL were among the top gainers today.

Wipro, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty ended at 22,148 up by 34 points.

Broader markets ended the day mixed. The BSE Mid Cap ended 0.4% higher and the BSE Small Cap index ended 1% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with stocks in the telecom sector, auto sector, and realty sector witnessing selling pressure. Meanwhile, stocks in the IT sector and media sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, and ABB India hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.4 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.4% lower at Rs 65,929 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.5% lower at Rs 74,691 per 1 kg.
 

Wipro Enterprises' Food Expansion

In news from the IT sector, Wipro Enterprises, the privately held non-IT consumer and food business of Wipro founder Azim Premji, has set its sights on the food sector for future acquisitions, banking on the success of its recent ventures in the industry.

Over the past year, the company has made significant strides in its food business with two notable acquisitions. In December 2022, Wipro Enterprises acquired Nirapara, a renowned spice brand, followed by the acquisition of Brahmins, another established brand from Kerala, in April 2023.

These strategic moves aim to bolster the company's presence in the spices, breakfast, and Ready-to-Cook categories.

There have been several acquisitions in the food sector.

In January, Tata Consumer revealed plans to acquire Capital Foods, which owns Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones brands, for Rs 51 bn. Additionally, the company will purchase Organic India, backed by Fabindia, for an enterprise value of Rs 19 bn, with potential additional payments based on the company's financial performance in FY 2025-26.

Anticipating significant growth potential, Wipro Enterprises aims for double-digit growth of between 15 and 20% in the food business in the fiscal year 2025. Leveraging its robust distribution network, particularly in the southern region, the company seeks to expedite penetration into both general and modern trade channels, a capability lacking in the acquired companies.

Despite challenges in other sectors, such as slower growth in rural areas and stagnant pricing in the consumer segment, Wipro Enterprises has experienced notable growth in its industrial automation business.

Prestige Estates Project zooms 5%

Moving on to the news from the real estate sector, the share price of Prestige Estates Projects rallied more than 5% in early trade on 22 March after the company acquired 62.5 acres of land in Indirapuram Extension, NCR.

The acquired land will be developed primarily as residential and will be branded under the Prestige City format.

The cost of acquisition amounts to Rs 4.7 bn, along with a revenue share.

Earlier this month, the company announced the launch of a luxury residential project, Prestige Somerville, in Whitefield, Bangalore, spread over 6.5 acres with a revenue potential of Rs 8 bn.
 

Enfuse Solution Makes a Positive Debut

Moving on, digital solutions provider Enfuse Solutions made a strong debut on the NSE SME platform on 22 March, listing at Rs 115, claiming a 19.8% premium over the issue price of Rs 96 per share.

The public issue of Enfuse Solutions received an overwhelming response from investors with over 357 times booking at close.

The grey market premium hovered around 40%, indicating a potential listing of around Rs 136 apiece.

The IPO of Enfuse Solutions was subscribed 248.42x in the retail category, 99.97x in the qualified institutional buyer (QIB) category, and 953.22x in the non-institutional investor (NII) category.

The Rs 224.4 m IPO of Enfuse Solutions was entirely a fresh equity sale of 23.38 lakh shares. It plans to utilize the net issue proceeds to finance capital expenditure, general corporate purposes, and issue expenses.

Enfuse Solutions provides integrated digital solutions in the areas of data management and analytics, e-commerce and digital services, machine learning and artificial intelligence, education, and technology solutions.

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