After opening the day flat, Indian share markets pared some losses as the session progressed and ended the day muted.

Benchmark indices were listless on Wednesday moving in a narrow range on either side of the flatline as investors looked for cues.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 27 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 7 points.

NTPC, TCS and Axis Bank were among the top gainers today.

Nestle, Bajaj Auto and Britannia on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty ended at 22,536 down by 72 points or 0.3%.

Broader markets ended the day on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap ended 0.6% higher and the BSE Small Cap index ended 1.2% higher.

Sector indices are trading on mixed, with stocks in the power sector, IT sector and finance sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the realty sector, the auto sector and the FMCG sector witnessed selling pressure.

Dixon Technologies, Thermax and M&M hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.44 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.3% higher at Rs 69,155 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 1.2% higher at Rs 77,959 per 1 kg.
 

Why Hindustan Zinc Share Price is Rising

In news from the mining sector, shares of Hindustan Zinc surged 4.6% in the afternoon trade on 3 April after it reported the highest-ever quarterly refined metal production at 273-kilo tonne (KT) in March on account of better plant availability.

Mined metal production in the March quarter stood at 299 KT, up 11% from the previous quarter, led by a mix of improved mined metal grades and higher ore production across mines.

For FY24, mined metal production at 1,079 KT was up 2% from the previous year, a record driven by improved mined metal grades.

Last week, a news agency reported that the government rejected the miner's proposal to split the company into different units.

The government is the largest minority shareholder in Hindustan Zinc, owning a 29.5% stake, but was not consulted by the company when it decided to split the firm to create separate entities for its zinc, lead, silver and recycling business.

In March, the government had opposed another proposal by Hindustan Zinc to buy two Vedanta entities. It had written to the market regulator underscoring its opposition, and the company eventually decided to dissolve the plan. Vedanta has a 64.9% stake in Hindustan Zinc.
 

Nalco Hits 52-Week High

In news from the aluminium sector, shares of National Aluminium Company (NALCO) bucked the market trend on 3 April, rising over 5% to a record high.

So far in the day, 40 m NALCO shares have changed hands on BSE and NSE combined, higher than the 1-week and 1-month average trading volume of 10 m and 20 m shares, respectively.

The rally comes after the state-owned firm said it clocked the highest-ever cast metal production of 0.5 m metric tonnes in FY24.

NALCO also achieved the highest-ever Bauxite excavation of 7.6 m metric tonnes, and the highest-ever metal sale of 0.5 m metric tonnes, surpassing all previous records since inception. In FY24, the company also added a new Aluminium Alloy Ingot (AL59) to its product range.

In FY24, the PSU developed and operationalised its Utkal D coal block and has also produced 2 million tonnes of Coal, which is the peak-rated capacity of the mine.

NALCO, a Navratna CPSE, is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium- Power Complex in the country. At present, the government holds 51.3% of paid-up equity capital in the state-run firm.

This PSU company keeps breaking several records. It recently reported the highest-ever production and sales of aluminium and bauxite.
 

JSW Energy to Raise Funds Via QIP

Moving on to news from the energy sector, shares of JSW Energy rose over 2% to hit a 52-week high of Rs 558 on 3 April after the company announced plans to raise Rs 50 bn through qualified institutional placements (QIP) in one or more tranches.

Further details of the QIP with regards to the date of launch are yet to be determined, but the board has set up a finance committee to make decisions on it.

The floor price for the QIP, however, is set at Rs 510 per share, while the indicative issue price stands at Rs 485 per share.

The company also refrained from sharing any details on how it plans to use the funds raised through the QIP.

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