Stock Market Live: Nifty, Sensex Down In Pre-Open

Both the benchmark Nifty and Sensex are down in pre-open session.

AU Small Finance Bank Clarifies CFO Has Not Resigned

AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. has issued a statement to address recent rumours regarding the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the conduct of a special audit by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The bank denied these rumours, emphasising that they are baseless and intended to cause panic among shareholders and manipulate the stock price.

The bank also clarified to NDTV Profit earlier that the CFO has not resigned.

The bank confirmed that its CFO, Vimal Jain, who has been with AU SFB since January 2010, continues to serve in his position and has not tendered his resignation.

Read full story here.

What Brokerages Say On IT?

Citi

  • The negative impact on the US Federal business is noted, but Indian IT has limited exposure.

  • Competition in other segments may increase.

  • Revenue growth in financial year 2026E is expected to be 4%, similar to financial year 2025E.

  • Margin improvements in a competitive environment will be challenging, despite favourable INR movements.

  • The overall sector view remains cautious.

  • Citi prefers HCL Tech and Infosys in the large-cap space and Mphasis in the mid-tier space.

CLSA

  • Accenture derives 8% of its revenue from US public services, which are facing significant cutbacks, a headwind not faced by Indian IT companies.

  • CLSA remains optimistic about the Indian IT sector based on earnings.

  • While near-term revenue growth may be impacted by currency changes, INR depreciation should partially offset this.

  • CLSA reiterated an ‘outperform’ rating on TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra due to continued growth in the BFSI and CMT verticals at Accenture.

Nomura

  • Accenture’s caution regarding US federal contracts and rising macroeconomic uncertainty contrasts with the situation for Indian IT companies, which have no exposure to US federal contracts.

  • There is a risk of increased caution from clients regarding IT spending due to macroeconomic uncertainty.

  • While growth for Indian IT companies is expected to bottom out in FY25F, it is unlikely to worsen significantly.

  • Indian IT companies are better positioned compared to Accenture due to their lack of exposure to US federal government contracts.

Share Market Live: Key Stocks To Watch Today

  • Manappuram Finance: Bain Capital will invest Rs 4,385 crore in the company. It will buy 9.29 crore shares and 9.29 crore warrants in the company. Bain Capital is to be classified as a promoter of Manappuram Finance after the completion of the deal. It is set to buy an 18% stake in Manappuram Finance through preferential allotment of shares. Warrants issued to Bain Capital are convertible to equivalent equity shares on a 1:1 ratio.

  • IndusInd Bank: The Board has engaged an independent professional firm to thoroughly investigate accounting discrepancies. The firm will review the accuracy and implications of the accounting treatment of derivative contracts, provide guidance, identify any lapses, and establish accountability related to these issues.

  • JSW Energy: The company will raise Rs 800 crore via non-convertible debentures in two tranches.

  • Bajaj Finance: The company appointed Rajiv Jain as executive vice chairman and Anup Shah as MD effective April 1.

Share Market Live: F&O Cues

  • The Nifty March futures were up 0.95% to 23,069.90 at a premium of 9.6 points, with the open interest down 6.26%.

  • The open interest distribution for the Nifty 50 March 27 expiry series indicated most activity at 24,000 call strikes, and the 22,000 put strikes had the maximum open interest.

  • Securities in ban period: Hindustan Copper, IndusInd Bank, Manappuram Finance, Polycab, SAIL.

Stock Market Live: CLSA Sees Green Shoots Of Recovery

  • Observe that the Nifty, NSE Midcap and NSE Smallcap indices had started to show signs of stability and an attempt to base out.

  • This week we have seen a continuation of the improving price action.

  • Nifty closing above its 50 daily moving average for the first time since December.

  • Thursday’s close above its 50DMA, unlike December’s, has been reinforced with a new breadth thrust signal.

  • A breadth thrust signal fires when the percentage of Nifty stocks trading at their four-week highs reaches 55% or greater.

  • As of Thursday’s, 56% of Nifty constituents traded at a four-week high, the first time since November 2023.

  • There have been 38 breadth thrust signals since 2002.

  • Average returns 30-days, 90-days and 250-days post a breadth thrust signal have been Nifty gains of 3.8%, 7.8% and 13.4%, respectively, with a hit rate of 76.3%, 73.6% and 81.5%.

US Futures Live: S&P 500, Dow Jones Up

Futures contracts for US equity benchmarks are trading higher.

  • S&P 500: Up 0.06%

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 0.12%

  • Nasdaq 100: Up 0.16%

Asian Stock Markets Live: Nikkei Up, Hang Seng Down

Asian equities traded higher early Friday, even as markets remain uncertain about US President Donald Trump’s next move in the trade war.

The Nikkei rose 0.3%, while Kospi was up 0.17%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.25%.

The Shanghai Composite index of mainland Chinese shares rose 0.12%, while Hang Seng was down 0.13%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed 0.2% lower. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged.

GIFT Nifty Live: Index Above 23,200

The GIFT Nifty was trading above 23,200 early Friday. The futures contract based on the Nifty 50 was up 16 points or 0.07% at 23,214 as of 7:30 a.m., indicating a higher open for the benchmark.

India’s benchmark indices ended at their highest level in over a month on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve signalled more interest rate cuts later this year, seeing only a brief increase in inflation due to Trump’s tariff policies.

The NSE Nifty 50 closed 283.05 points, or 1.24% higher at 23,190.65, while BSE Sensex ended 899.01 points, or 1.19% to end at 76,348.06.

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.The immediate support for Nifty is placed near the 22,940–22,974 level, forming a bullish gap. If the index remains above 22,940, it could extend its rally towards 23,500–23,600.  Read MoreMarkets, Business, Notifications 

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