India Stocks: Indian shares rise as fears of global banking contagion ebb

Aditya Birla Sun Life Amc

27/03/2023 06:26

(Updates levels, adds analysts' comments)
    By Bharath Rajeswaran
       BENGALURU, March 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on
Monday as authorities globally took steps to contain the banking
turmoil, helping dispel some of the contagion fears.
    The Nifty 50 index  .NSEI  was up 0.43% at 17,017.30 as of
10:35 a.m. IST. The S&P BSE Sensex  .BSESN  rose 0.43% to
57,774.50. The broader Asian equity indexes were subdued.
    Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced. Pharma
stocks  .NIPHARM  rose 1% and was the top sectoral gainer.
    First Citizens BancShares is to buy the collapsed Silicon
Valley Bank, while the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European
Central Bank said they are keeping a close watch on the impact
of banking stress.
    That helped cast an uneasy calm over fragile markets.
    Domestically, a media report said that India's state-run
lenders will submit a detailed scenario-mapped plan of various
risks to the government within two weeks.
    Indian financials  .NIFTYFIN  were up 0.02%, while banks
 .NSEBANK  were flat. Indian lenders are expected to remain
resilient in the wake of the global turmoil.
    "Expect some stability in Indian markets after swift action
by regulators on banking crisis so far in the West," said Anita
Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets.
    "The persistent selling by foreign portfolio investors
(FPIs) is a dampener on sentiment, though," she added.
    Since the failure of SVB on March 9, FPIs have offloaded
Indian equities in ten out of the 11 sessions.
    Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries  RELI.NS  rose
2% after Kotak Institutional Equities called the stock a
"compelling" buy.
    Shares of Phoenix Mills  PHOE.NS  jumped nearly 6% after
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight"
recommendation.
    Asset management companies like HDFC Asset Management
 HDFA.NS , UTI Asset Management  UTIA.NS  and Aditya Birla Sun
Life  ADIE.NS  declined after the government proposed to tax
benefits from long-term debt mutual funds.

 (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by
Eileen Soreng)
 ((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463))