India’s financial heartbeat will pause for a day on Friday, March 8, 2024, as the stock markets — both BSE and NSE, close to celebrate Mahashivratri. This means no trading in the Equity, Equity Derivative, SLB, and Currency Derivatives Segments, marking a quiet day for investors. However, the commodity market will catch up with its missed morning session by opening doors from 5:00 PM to nearly midnight.

This day off is part of the trio of stock market holidays in March, with Holi and Good Friday next in line, shuttering markets on March 25 and March 29, respectively. So, as the nation immerses in the festive spirit, the markets too take a breather, resuming their usual bustle the following day.

Markets on March 7: The market couldn’t sustain its initial gains, ending a rangebound session on March 7 nearly unchanged. At the open, benchmark indices reached new all-time highs, with Nifty breaking the 22,500 mark for the first time. The BSE Sensex peaked at 74,245.17 before slightly rising by 33.40 points to close at 74,119.39. Similarly, the Nifty50 hit a new high of 22,525.65 but ended up 19.50 points at 22,493.50.

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Over the week, both the BSE Sensex and Nifty increased by 0.5%. Leading the gains in Nifty were Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Tata Consumer, Tata Motors, and JSW Steel, while M&M, BPCL, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank faced losses. Sector-wise, banking, oil & gas, auto, and realty sectors saw declines, whereas metal, capital goods, media, and FMCG sectors rose by 1-2.5%.

The BSE mid-cap index grew by 0.3%, and the small-cap index by 0.7%. Stocks like Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel hit their 52-week highs. Tata Power, Chambal Fertilisers, and M&M experienced significant volume spikes, with long build-ups in Tata Chemicals and Tata Power and short build-ups in M&M and others.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities highlighted that despite the market’s narrow movements, the bullish trend remains intact with expectations of further upside. Immediate support is at 22,310 levels, with an upside target of around 22,800 in the near term.

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