Indian equity markets continued their rally in the late morning session, with Sensex and Nifty holding strong gains, driven by buying in Utilities and Auto stocks, despite weak trends in other Asian markets. Optimism prevailed as Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, highlighted India's growing global competitiveness.

On the global front, most Asian markets were in the red, even as Japan's overall consumer price inflation eased in February due to government energy subsidies. However, rising core inflation and higher wages increased pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.

Back home, defence stocks gained traction as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved eight capital acquisition proposals worth over RS. 54,000 crore on March 20, 2025.

The BSE Sensex was trading at 76,816.92, up 468.86 points or 0.61%, after moving between 76,095.26 and 76,946.04. The index saw 23 stocks advancing and seven declining. Broader indices were also in the green, with the BSE Mid Cap index rising 0.89% and the Small Cap index up 1.50%.

Sectoral Performance:
The top sectoral gainers on the BSE were Utilities (+1.95%), Auto (+1.36%), Industrials (+1.26%), Oil & Gas (+1.22%), and PSU (+1.19%). Consumer Durables (-0.20%) and Metal (-0.11%) were the only laggards.

Top Gainers and Losers:
Sensex top gainers: Bajaj Finance (+2.57%), NTPC (+2.21%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (+2.13%), Nestle (+2.01%), and Larsen & Toubro (+2.00%).
Sensex top losers: Infosys (-1.59%), Bajaj Finserv (-1.02%), Trent (-0.89%), IndusInd Bank (-0.83%), and Titan (-0.61%).

Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri assured that oil and gas companies will not face new taxes, such as windfall profit tax, after the implementation of the new Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2024, which ensures policy stability for investors. He emphasized the need to boost domestic oil and gas production to reduce India’s reliance on imports, which currently stand at over 85% for crude oil and 50% for natural gas.

India had imposed a windfall profit tax in July 2022 on energy companies but later scrapped it in December 2024 after 30 months.

The CNX Nifty was trading at 23,336.25, up by 145.60 points or 0.63%, after moving between 23,132.80 and 23,370.85. The index had 39 advancing stocks against 11 declining ones.

Nifty top gainers: Bajaj Finance (+2.65%), Coal India (+2.59%), SBI Life Insurance (+2.37%), Hero MotoCorp (+2.19%), and Mahindra & Mahindra (+2.18%).
Nifty top losers: Infosys (-1.71%), Bajaj Finserv (-1.06%), Trent (-0.97%), IndusInd Bank (-0.94%), and Hindalco (-0.74%).

Global Markets:
Asian markets were mostly in red: Hang Seng fell 2.46%, Jakarta Composite declined 2.19%, Shanghai Composite dropped 1.36%, and Taiwan Weighted lost 0.76%. However, KOSPI gained 0.12%.