Stock Market Today March 20 Highlights: Sensex ends 326 pts higher, Nifty at 23115; IT, metals gain, HDFC Bank down 2.3%

Market wrap by Mr. Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking:

"Markets witnessed a volatile session on Friday and ended marginally higher, taking a breather after the previous session’s steep decline. The Nifty opened on a firm note following positive global signals and maintained gains in the early hours.

However, selling pressure resumed as the session progressed, leading the index to surrender most of its gains by the close. Despite this, it managed to end with modest gains of nearly half a percent, settling at the 23,114 level.

Sectoral participation remained mixed, reflecting selective buying interest. Pharma, IT and metal stocks were among the key gainers, while realty, financials and banking traded subdued. Broader indices traded mixed, with midcap gaining over half a percent and smallcap ending flat.

Sentiment improved as crude oil prices cooled off from recent highs following statements from the US and Israel indicating that energy infrastructure in Iran would not be targeted for now.

The sharp decline in the previous session also triggered some bargain hunting across sectors. However, lingering geopolitical tensions, continued weakness in the rupee and persistent FII outflows remain key overhangs for the market.

We maintain our cautious stance given the prevailing negative sentiment and recommend preferring hedged positions over naked trades until greater stability emerges. On the index front, the 23,400–23,600 zone is likely to act as a resistance area in case of a rebound, while 22,800 remains a critical support level.

A break below this level could lead to further downside towards the 22,500 mark, despite the oversold conditions. As most sectors continue to face pressure, participants should maintain a stock-specific approach, focusing on relatively stronger stocks for long opportunities and weaker counters for short positions."

Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities:

"The Indian rupee resumed its downward spiral to fresh record lows following Thursday’s holiday, battered by a 'double whammy' of persistent foreign fund outflows and surging crude oil prices. With a widening trade deficit and inflationary pressures mounting, the RBI to adopt a status quo in April meeting.

While geopolitical volatility remains a key driver for short-term sentiment, the USDINR technical setup remains bullish; having breached ascending channel resistance, the pair eyes a 93.75 level with support shifting to 92.90."

The Indian rupee fell past 93 per dollar for the first time on Friday and logged its worst single-day drop in over four years, on worries over the hit to Asia's third-largest economy from the Iran war-led disruptions to global energy supplies.

The rupee fell more than 1% to 93.7350 against the U.S. dollar, eclipsing its previous record low of 92.63 touched on Wednesday. It closed at 93.71 and was down about 1.3% on the week, the steepest decline since late 2022.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said:

"After a massive decline and faster downside retracement on Thursday, Nifty witnessed bounce back amidst volatility on Friday and closed the day higher by 112 points. After opening on a positive note, Nifty moved up further in the early part of the session. It was not able to sustain above the hurdle of 23350 levels and slipped in to weakness from the highs in the mid to later part of the session.

A small thin candle was formed on the daily chart with long upper shadow. Technically, this signals a formation of doji type candle pattern. This market action indicates lack of strength in the upside bounce. Bearish pattern like lower tops and bottoms is intact on the daily chart and the Nifty is on the way down to form a new lower bottom of the pattern.

The near term trend of Nifty remains weak and present bounce back could be a sell on rise opportunity. A weakness below 22900 could open next downside target of 22500 in the near term. However, immediate resistance is placed at 23380."

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments said:

"Positive comments aimed at de-escalating the conflict and avoiding attacks on oil and gas infrastructure led to a moderate rebound during the day. However, investor sentiment remains fragile, with gains tapering off as participants remain reluctant to hold positions over the weekend amid war-related uncertainties. Defensive buying continued in healthcare, supported by INR depreciation and a stable outlook.

The IT sector also found support from deep long-term value and the absence of any visible negative impact from AI. While the consensus remains cautiously optimistic, expectations are that conflict-related risks may ease over the next couple of weeks, allowing market volatility to subside. Buying opportunities are emerging after the massive sell-off this month, though the loss of Qatar’s gas capacity is expected to have an impact on the Indian LNG sector."

The Indian stock market benchmark indices Sensex, Nifty pared some gains but ended 0.5% higher on Friday, March 20 following gains in Asian peers after steep over 3% loss in the previous session. Sentiment was also aided by some fall in crude oil prices and well as a softer dollar.

Sensex ended 326 points or 0.44% higher at 74,533 while Nifty 50 jumped 112 points or 0.5% higher at 23,114.5.

Vodafone Idea, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Tata Silver Exchange Traded Fund, Tata Gold Exchange Traded Fund, HDFC Bank, Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry), Websol Energy System, YES Bank, Reliance Power, Nippon India Silver ETF, and Nippon India ETF Gold Bees were among the most traded stocks, or the most active stocks in terms of volume, on the NSE on Friday.

Suzlon Energy, MRPL, Eternal, Adani Power, Inox Green Energy Services, NMDC, Filatex Fashions, IDBI Bank, and Tata Steel were also among the most traded stocks on the NSE. Read more

Shares of State Bank of India rose over 3% on Friday after its subsidiary, SBI Funds Management—India’s largest asset manager—filed draft IPO papers with the market regulator to raise funds via the primary market.

In a regulatory filing, SBI said its subsidiary has submitted a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to Securities and Exchange Board of India for an IPO of up to 20.37 crore equity shares. The issue will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), meaning the proceeds will go to existing shareholders and not to the company itself.

Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk said:

"In today's commodity market update, gold prices have shown a slight recovery, trading at $4,697.11 per ounce (approximately ₹1,41,019 per 10 grams), up by 0.90%, amidst a backdrop of recent sell-offs and renewed investor interest. Conversely, silver has faced downward pressure, declining by 0.69% to $72.59 per ounce (around ₹2,17,948 per kg), as a stronger U.S. dollar continues to weigh on precious metals.

The recent volatility is attributed to a hawkish stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has kept interest rates steady but hinted at potential increases, creating a cautious sentiment in the market. Additionally, crude oil prices have retreated to $94.11 per barrel (approximately ₹8,788), down 2.11%, amid concerns over fluctuating demand and geopolitical tensions."

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3% to 5,781.20. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed on Friday on a holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 25,253.78, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.2% to 3,957.05.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.8% to 8,428.40.

Taiwan’s Taiex was trading 0.4% lower, and India's Sensex was up 1%.

Shares of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation surged over 12% on Friday, adding more than ₹2,000 crore to its market capitalisation, supported by positive market sentiment and stock-specific triggers.

The stock climbed to ₹599 on the NSE, trading nearly 8% below its 52-week high of ₹651, which it had touched in October last year.

The sharp rally was driven by reports suggesting the company’s inclusion in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series. In addition, earlier this month, GMDC announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NMDC to explore collaboration opportunities in the rare earth elements (REE) segment, further boosting investor sentiment.

Godawari Power and Ispat share price jumped over 6% on Friday after the company announced an increase in investment in its wholly owned subsidiary, Godawari New Energy Private Limited, following the conversion of preference shares into equity. Godawari Power share price rallied as much as 6.77% to ₹267.85 apiece on the BSE.

Godawari Power and Ispat said it received intimation from its wholly-owned subsidiary Godawari New Energy Private Limited (GNEPL) regarding the allotment of 19.89 crore equity shares of ₹10 each upon conversion of 0.1% non-cumulative participating optionally convertible redeemable preference shares (OCRPS). Read more

Reliance shares have displayed remarkable resilience this month despite a sharp selloff in the Indian stock market. While the Indian stock market benchmarks- the Sensex and the Nifty 50- have lost almost 8% each in March so far, shares of the Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate, Reliance Industries (RIL), have climbed more than 2% this month, looking set to snap their two-month losing run. Notably, the Sensex and the Nifty 50 appear on course to extend losses for the fourth consecutive month. Read more

Indian IT stocks traded higher on Friday, supported by improved sentiment following Accenture’s Q2 earnings. The Nifty IT index rose over 2%, following strength in the broader Indian stock market.

Oracle Financial Services Software surged nearly 5%, while Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Persistent Systems, Infosys and Mphasis gained over 2% each. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and Coforge also rose more than 1%. Barring LTIMindtree, all other constituents of the Nifty IT index were trading in positive territory.

Accenture Q2 earnings were robust and the company raised its full-year growth guidance, which analysts view as an incremental positive for Indian IT companies. The company reported a 4% year-on-year (YoY) growth in revenue in constant currency (CC) terms to $18 billion, near the upper end of its guidance and marginally above Street estimates of $17.9 billion. Read more

Aster DM Healthcare was in focus after the company announced that its board will meet on March 26, 2026, to consider and approve an interim dividend for the financial year 2025–26. The company also informed exchanges that the record date for determining eligible shareholders, if the dividend is approved, has been fixed as April 3, 2026.

“a meeting of the Board of Directors of Aster DM Healthcare Limited… is scheduled to be held on Thursday, March 26, 2026, inter-alia, to consider and approve declaration of interim dividend,” the company said in its filing.

Alongside the dividend announcement, Aster DM Healthcare said its trading window has been closed from March 19, 2026, in line with its insider trading norms. The window will remain shut until 48 hours after the announcement of financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2026.

International oil prices fell over 2% on Friday after the US signalled potential easing of sanctions on Iranian oil and global powers backed efforts to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The moves point to early attempts to stabiliZe supplies after crude surged to multi-month highs amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

The April contract of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange was trading at $105.88 per barrel, down 2.44% from its previous close. Similarly, the April contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on NYMEX was at $93.20 per barrel, lower by 2.46%.

Oil prices have been volatile since the start of the war on 28 February, with Brent briefly nearing $119 per barrel on Thursday.