After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets continued their momentum and ended on a strong note.

Metal stocks boosted sentiment on Wednesday, while upbeat global peers supported sentiment as February manufacturing activity in the world's largest producer of metals, China, rose to over-a-decade-high levels on reopening.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 449 points (up 0.8%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed up by 147 points (up 0.9%).

Adani Enterprises, Hindalco, and UPL were among the top gainers today.

Britannia, Power Grid Corporation, and Cipla were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,524, up by 126 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index and BSE SmallCap index gained 0.4%.

All sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the metal sector, IT sector, realty sector, and power sector witnessing buying.

Shares of Procter and Gamble Health, and Triveni Turbine hit their 52-week highs today.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using the stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Asian share markets ended on a positive note. The Hang Seng ended higher by 4.2% while the Shanghai Composite index rose 1%. The Nikkei ended 0.3% higher.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note. Dow futures are trading higher by 0.1% and are trading flat while Nasdaq futures are trading up by 0.3 %.

The rupee is trading at 82.5 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 55,755 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 64,623 per kg.
 

Why Maruti Suzuki's share price is rising

In news from the auto sector, the share price of Maruti Suzuki gained 1.5% after the company reported better sales numbers for February 2023.

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, on Wednesday, reported a 5% YoY increase in total sales at 1,72,321 units in February. The company had sold a total of 1,64,056 units in the year-ago period.

Total domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 10.8% to 155,114 units from February 2022.

Exports, however, took a hit, with the company shipping 17,207 cars in the month against 24,021 units in the year-ago period.

Further, the shortage of semiconductors had a minor impact on production, mainly in domestic models.

The company took all possible measures to minimize the impact.

Apart from this, driving the EV revolution, it is developing hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) with Toyota.

Note that the electric vehicle (EV) megatrend is a once-in-a-century revolution happening right in front of us.?

The revolution has taken the auto sector by storm. All segments of the sector are ripe for disruption, and India's top EV stocks are set to benefit from this shift.

Adani group secures US$3 billion credit

Moving on, Adani Group, on Wednesday, secured a US$ 3 billion (bn) loan from a sovereign wealth fund as the embattled conglomerate seeks to ease concerns about its credit profile after a short-seller attack.

This credit line from the sovereign wealth fund can further be upsized to US$ 5 bn.

The news of a fresh fundraising plan comes a day after Adani management told bondholders that it expected to prepay or repay share-backed loans worth US$ 690 million (m) to US$ 790 m by end-March.

The plans are being unveiled as the group holds a fixed-income roadshow this week in Singapore and Hong Kong to shore up investor confidence amid steep share price falls and a regulatory probe.
 

Tata Power Renewable announces capital infusion

Moving on to news from the renewable energy sector, Tata Power Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of Tata Power, has received an investment of Rs 20 bn from GreenForest New Energies Bidco.

It successfully allotted 2 bn Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) at a face value of Rs 100 each at par aggregating to Rs 20 bn on a preferential basis to GreenForest.

After this second tranche, it has now received Rs 40 bn of investment under the binding agreement signed on 14 April 2022.

GreenForest holds 6.06% equity in the company, and with the conversion of the above CCPS, it will hold a 9.76% to 11.43% equity stake in Tata Power Renewable Energy, subject to the equity valuation on the final conversion.

The equity infusion will fund India's most comprehensive renewal energy platform, consisting of five distinct businesses delivering long-term, customer-oriented solutions.

With this infusion, it aims to achieve a portfolio of over 20 GW of renewable assets and a market-leading position.

Tata Power is in the business of power generation, transmission, and distribution through conventional and renewable sources.

With a massive Rs 750 billion (bn) capex plan to increase the share of renewable energy, it stands among the top 5 power companies in India.

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