After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets continued their momentum throughout the trading session and ended on a firm footing.

Benchmark indices bounced back tracking positive global market cues as fears related to the banking crisis in the west seemed to subside.

Eleven of the thirteen major sectoral indexes advanced with high-weightage financial stocks rising up to 1%. Out of the Nifty 50 stocks, 32 logged gains.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 446 points (up 0.7%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed up by 119 points (up 0.7%).

HDFC Life Insurance, Reliance, and Bajaj Auto were among the top gainers today.

HUL, Britannia, and Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,150 up by 126 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note with the BSE Midcap index rallying 0.6% and the BSE SmallCap index ending 0.5% higher.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the power sector, energy sector, and telecom sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the IT sector and FMCG sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Siemens 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 stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei ended lower by 1.4%, while the Hang Seng was up 1.4%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.6% higher.

The rupee is trading at 82.65 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 59,272 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 68,858 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, the Indian stock markets have been facing one event after the other that is making Mr Market nervous.

First, it was the Adani saga. The recent events of the failure of SVB and Signature Bank, and now the concerns related to Credit Suisse are again feeding the fear element in the stock markets.

The last time the global banks failed, we witnessed a correction across the global including Indian stock markets.
 

L&T bags major orders for the hydrocarbon business

In news from the engineering sector, the share price of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose more than 2% today after the conglomerate bagged major offshore orders from an overseas client for its hydrocarbon business.

The company classifies order values of Rs 50-70 billion (bn) as major orders.

L&T Energy Hydrocarbon offers design-to-build solutions across the hydrocarbon sector to domestic and international customers.

It is executing several domestic and international offshore projects and is committed to building its regional presence in the geographies in which it operates.

Larsen & Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing, and services. It operates in over 50 countries worldwide.

The company has rewarded investors with 10 bonuses over the last 7 decades and the CAGR over the last 20 years stands at an impressive 25.6%.

L&T has been an investor's favorite stock for a long time and also a stock that makes it to the top 5 infrastructure stocks.
 

Why cryptos are on the rise

Moving on, most cryptocurrencies have gained momentum in recent days, with Bitcoin price hovering above the US$ 28,000 level for the first time since June 2022.

The largest digital coin gained roughly 25% since 8 March 2023, when signs first emerged of trouble around Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which has since folded and ignited turmoil among other lenders.

Reports state that the pump was due to a combination of factors, including a massive, short squeeze, a billion-dollar buy by Binance and the Fed's response to the banking crisis, and news on Ethereum's update.

The mainstream bank crisis has also fueled some interest in DeFi, with the total value of tokens linked to such platforms rising to US$ 49 bn from US$ 43 bn over the past week,

Another reason is the official announcement of the Ethereum Shanghai hard fork update date (12 April 2023), which will allow users to withdraw their staked Eth and is expected to stimulate the Ethereum market demand.
 

NMDC hikes iron ore prices

Moving on to news from the mining sector, state-run miner NMDC on Tuesday increased the price of lump ore to Rs 4,500 per ton from Rs 4,400 per ton in February 2023, while the prices of fines have been hiked by Rs 200 per ton at Rs 4,110 per ton.

The prices exclude royalties, district mineral fund (DMF), National Mineral Exploration Trust (DMET), cess, forest permit fee, and other taxes.

Before this, in January 2023, the iron ore producer had updated the price of lump ore to Rs 4,300 per ton and the price of fines to Rs 3,410 per ton.

The prices at that time were increased by Rs 500 per ton for lumps and Rs 200 per ton for fines.

Following the hike, its February sales had declined 4.8% at 3.78 million tons (mt) Vs 3.97 mt a year back.

Lump ore and fines are among the key ferrous feeds used in the blast furnaces for the iron and steel-making industry.

NMDC is the largest iron ore producer in the country.

The company is primarily engaged in the exploration of iron ore, copper, limestone, tin, and diamond. It also produces and sells sponge iron and generates wind power.

NMDC is a dividend paymaster, making it among the top 6 midcap stocks with high dividend yield.

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