Indian markets closed for two days; to resume trade next week on Monday

Indian stocks, bonds and currency markets are closed on Thursday and Friday to observe Mahaveer Jayanti and Good Friday. Trading will resume on Monday. On Wednesday, the Sensex lost 205.71 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 32,968.68, while the broader Nifty shed 70.45 points or 0.69 per cent to end at 10,113.70. 

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices slipped 0.5 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 1,696 stocks declined, 935 stocks rallied, while 198 stocks remained unchanged.

The benchmark indices posted a monthly loss of 3.5 per cent, their steepest drop for the month of March since 2015.

The flagship Sensex has gained 3,348.18 points, or 11.30 per cent, during 2017-18. The index had gained 16.88 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Investors saw a wealth addition of Rs 20.70 lakh crore during fiscal 2017-18. The market capitalisation of all the firms listed on the BSE reached Rs 142.24 lakh crore, from Rs 121.54 lakh crore as on March 31, 2017.

The broader Nifty closed the fiscal year with gains of 939.95 points, or 10.25 per cent. During the previous fiscal, it scored gains of 1,435.55 points, or 18.55 per cent.

"Market slid on the expiry day due to volatility in global market and last leg of redemption ahead of introduction of LTCG. We expect domestic volatility to normalise as declining yield and inflation may provide room for RBI to extend their neutral stance, against rate hike expectation.

"Result season will be next major trigger as earnings growth remain in the initial stage of recovery while investors are focused on the possibility of further upgrade," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,063.12, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 2,172.91 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

In the bond market, the benchmark 10-year bond yield on Wednesday rose about 7 basis points to 7.40 per cent, while the rupee weakened to 65.17 from its 64.98 close.