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Indian market is expected to consolidate on Friday tracking muted global cues.The Nifty futures closed positive with gains of 0.95% at 22118 levels on Thursday. India VIX was down by 7.13% from 13.47 to 12.51 levels.Volatility cooled off and paved the way for the bulls from crucial support zones in the previous trading session. Positive setup was seen in stocks like Muthoot Finance, Poly Cab, BHEL, Jindal Steel, Siemens, BEL, HAL, Naukri, IRCTC, Voltas, DLF etc. among others.On the options front, the weekly maximum Call OI is placed at 22000 and then towards 21500 strikes while the maximum Put OI is placed at 22000 and then towards 21800 strikes.Call writing is seen at 22000 and then towards 22500 strikes while Put writing is seen at 22000 and then towards 21800 strikes.“Options data suggests a shift in trading range in between 21500 to 22500 zones while an immediate trading range in between 21650 to 22000 zones,” Chandan Taparia, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, said.“Nifty formed a small-bodied Bullish candle on the daily scale on Friday and support-based buying was strong,” he said.“Now the index has to continue to hold above 22000 zones for an up move towards 22122 then 22222 while on the flip side, support is placed at 21850 then 21700 zones,” recommended Taparia.We have collated a list of stocks from the F&O basket along with cash market from various experts for traders who have a short-term trading horizon:Expert: Pritesh Mehta, Lead Technical Analyst at YES Securities told ETBureauMuthoot Finance: Buy| Target Rs 1540| Stop Loss Rs 1380Tata Steel: Buy| Target Rs 168| Stop Loss Rs 144InterGlobe Aviation: Buy| Target Rs 3600| Stop Loss Rs 3150Expert: Kunal Bothra, Market Expert told ETNowITC: Buy| Target Rs 435| Stop Loss Rs 412Jindal Steel: Buy| Target Rs 880| Stop Loss Rs 780SRF: Buy| Target Rs 2850| Stop Loss Rs 2350(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Mumbai: Battered shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies received the highest flows from foreign investors across sectors in the first half of March as they saw value in these stocks after their underperformance in recent years.The FMCG sector received the highest inflows of ₹11,180 crore after witnessing selling worth ₹4,472 crore last month. In 2023, shares in the sector received ₹2,916 crore.In the period between March 1 and 15, overseas investors were buyers to the tune of ₹44,974 crore across 15 sectors, as per data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL).Apart from FMCG, foreign investors were buyers in the telecommunication and financial services sectors. 108691492 The telecommunication and financial services sectors saw a shift in sentiment from foreign investors, as they turned net buyers worth ₹6,648 crore in the former and ₹5,365 crore in the latter after selling ₹3,933 crore and ₹9,977 crore in February in that order.Services, consumer services, and realty sectors continued to witness inflows worth over ₹4,000 crore. Foreign investors bought shares worth ₹3,697 crore in the automobile sector while capital goods received foreign inflows worth ₹2,838 crore in the first half of the month. In 2023, the two sectors received robust inflows worth ₹29,389 crore and ₹43,936 crore respectively.Overseas investors sold shares worth ₹4,266 crore in the first half of March across 8 sectors, where healthcare observed the highest outflows.Foreign investors offloaded shares worth ₹1,577 in the healthcare sector after purchases worth ₹5,199 crore in February, followed by oil & gas and information technology sectors which witnessed outflows worth over ₹1,000 crore. The IT sector had received inflows worth ₹2,197 crore in February after overseas investors sold shares worth ₹7,066 crore in calendar 2023.

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said on Thursday that the same-day stock trade settlement process to be launched on March 28 will be optional and limited to a few stocks. This 'beta version' is aimed at ensuring that the shorter settlement cycle functions smoothly before its full-fledged launch.Currently, Indian equity markets follow the T+1 settlement system, where stocks and funds are settled the day after the trade. To start with, the new trade settlement system will run in tandem with the existing T+1 cycle in the equity cash market. It will be applicable for 25 stocks and only select brokers can participate in the new system, said the regulator. There would be one continuous trading session from 9:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.All investors would be eligible to participate in the T+0 trade settlement cycle if they are able to meet the timelines and risk requirements of stock exchanges, Sebi said.The price in the T+0 segment will operate with a price band of +100 basis points (1 percentage point) from the price in the regular T+1 market. This band will be re-calibrated after every 50 basis points movement in the underlying T+1 market, Sebi said in a circular.The regulator added that T+0 prices will not be considered in index calculation and settlement price computation. Besides, there would be no separate closing price for securities based on trading in the T+0 segment.

Mumbai: Indian stocks rose on Thursday, tracking the strength in global markets, as the US Federal Reserve's policymakers reaffirmed that there could be three interest rate cuts this year fuelled optimism among investors. The Nifty closed above 22,000, considered a psychologically important level, while the beaten-down mid-cap, small-cap and PSU stocks rebounded the most in the broad market rallyThe BSE Sensex gained 0.75% or 539.50 points to close at 72,641.19, while the Nifty advanced 0.79% or 172.85 points to close at 22011.95.Analysts said if the Nifty sustains over the 22,000 levels in the next few trading sessions, there could be a rally in the run-up to the elections.108691024The markets were oversold in the run-up to the Fed meeting and there is uncertainty whether the markets can sustain the rebound, they said."Markets were in an oversold zone prior to the Fed meeting outcome," said Neeraj Chadawar, head-fundamental and quantitative research at Axis Securities. "Since the outcome was anticipated, there was an immediate recovery today post Wednesday's corrections."On Wednesday, the Fed kept the policy rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5% in line with expectations. What cheered markets globally was that the majority of central bank's policymakers continued to see three 25 bps rate cuts in 2024. Several investors had toned down their expectations on how many times the Fed would cut rates this year in the wake of stronger-than-expected inflationary readings in recent months.Easy monetary policy in the US has been good news for emerging markets like India in the past. Interest rate cuts could lead to a weaker dollar and declining bond yields, driving more flows into Indian markets.Investors should monitor the US bond yield and crude oil prices for the next one month to determine whether the rally will sustain, said Chadawar. "If the US bond yield remains muted, it will offer markets a breather," he said. "On the other hand, if there is any up move in the yields then it could lead to volatility in the markets."PSU stocks were among the top gainers with Nifty PSE Index up 3.51%. NTPC, BPCL, Power Grid and Coal India gained over 3% each.The Nifty Midcap 150 surged by 2.26% and Nifty Smallcap 250 by 2.26%. In the past month, both indices have fallen by 3.03% and 6.3%, respectively. Foreign investors net sold shares worth ₹1,826.97 crore while domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹3,208.87 crore.

NEW DELHI: PE firm Samara Capital is in talks to acquire 50% in pasta and sauces maker Del Monte Foods from Bharti Enterprises as well as a minority stake in Yummiez frozen foods maker Godrej Tyson Foods, executives aware of the developments said.The proposed deals reflect increasing investor interest in the ready-to-eat packaged foods categories, as convenience and accessibility drive aspirational demand of western-style foods even in tier-3 and 4 markets. On top of that, quick commerce and ecommerce are enabling impulse consumption and deeper reach. Both potential deals are expected to be housed in the new $150 million roll-up platform for packaged foods.Valuations Still Being DiscussedSamara had set up the platform along with a consortium of investors including Convergent Finance LLP, an investment management and advisory fund.Such tuck-in platforms acquire a number of firms in the same line of business to boost product offerings and market access while gaining from synergies. Big companies or private equity firms use these platforms to acquire and merge multiple smaller businesses.108687672While Samara's negotiations with Bharti Enterprises for Del Monte are at an advanced stage, talks with Godrej Agrovet for the Godrej Tyson Foods stake are preliminary, said the executives cited above.Valuations for the proposed deals are still being discussed, they said. In FY23, Godrej Tyson Foods crossed Rs 1,000-crore sales milestone and posted Rs 13.20-crore profit before tax while Del Monte Foods reported revenues of Rs 536.36 crore and losses of Rs 15.2 crore.Emails sent to offices of Samara Capital and Bharti Enterprises remained unanswered as of press time Thursday.A Godrej Agrovet spokesperson said: "We do not comment on any speculative or forward-looking news or rumours... We do make and shall continue to make adequate disclosures to the stock exchanges as and when required."Godrej Tyson Foods is a joint venture between listed Godrej Agrovet (51%) and US-based Tyson Foods (49%).

Mumbai: Notwithstanding the sharp swings in the stock market in recent weeks, individual investors are not shying away from borrowing and betting on shares, especially mid-caps - some of the worst hit in the recent sell-off. The total quantum of margin funding - a short-term loan to investors for buying shares they cannot afford otherwise - surged to ₹59,300 crore on March 20 as against ₹58,400 crore as of February 29.NHPC, Yes Bank, Zee Entertainment, IDFC First Bank, SAIL, Poonawalla Finance, Indiabulls Housing, Bandhan Bank, Rail Vikas Nigam, NMDC and Ircon International are among the stocks that these investors have bought using margin funding, according to stock exchange data compiled by ET.Bets through margin funding in many of these stocks range from ₹400 crore to ₹760 crore, according to stock exchange data.Margin funding mostly happens during bullish phases in the market as investors are confident their bets will make enough money to make profits in excess of the financing costs. Share trading through margin funding usually declines in uncertain market conditions as the likelihood of losses is higher. Brokers are also conservative while extending loans for this purpose in such times.This time, however, there is less hesitation to bet on mid-cap stocks through margin funding. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have lost 2% and 6%, respectively, since March 1. Many of the mid-cap stocks have fallen up to 40% in this period.108690896Brokers said resilience in margin funding despite recent declines is a sign of confidence among investors that several of these mid-caps and small-caps will rebound after the recent correction. Some think such investors are being complacent."The common perception of higher returns from mid-caps compared to large caps have largely attributed investors in gravitating towards small and mid-cap stocks," said Aasif Hirani, managing director of Tradebulls Securities. "Fear of missing out (FOMO) can be one of the reasons where one can see many of the mid-cap stocks posting fresh all-time high and so that cultivates in greed mindset where investors chase the price irrespective of fundamentals."Indiabulls Housing, which saw a 12% decline since March 1, witnessed an increase in margin funding from ₹492 crore to ₹513 crore during this period.In a small-cap company like HFCL, which has seen a 17% decline in its stock price since the beginning of the month, there was an increase in margin funding from ₹206 crore to ₹219 crore.Among large-cap stocks, retail investors have taken positions worth ₹846 crore through margin funding in Jio Financial, while Tata Motors witnessed a significant increase from ₹537 crore as of February 29 to ₹775 crore as of March 20. IRFC has margin funding of ₹680 crore, while IDFC First Bank and SAIL have nearly ₹540 crore each.Margin funding for trading in Zee Entertainment stood at ₹ 590 crores as of March 20, slightly down from ₹653 crore earlier this month. The stock has dipped by nearly 13% since the beginning of the month.