Sensex eyes a modest opening on Thursday

• India’s Sensex eyes a modest opening on Thursday, having rebounded firmly on Wednesday.
• Sensex hit fresh record highs above 74,000 on Wednesday, helped by banking stocks.
• US Nonfarm Payrolls and Fed Chair Powell testimony eyed after poor US ADP and JOLTs data.

The Sensex 30, one of India’s key benchmark indices, is set to open with modest gains on Thursday, having witnessed two-way business on Wednesday to finally settle in the green.  

Gift Nifty futures are trading listlessly, pointing to a flattish open for the Sensex 30 index.

On Wednesday, the Indian index witnessed an impressive turnaround after struggling on the back of weak market sentiment, courtesy of the poor Services PMI releases from India, China and the US. A rebound in the Indian banking sector stocks saved the day for Sensex traders, as the index clinched fresh record highs.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 closed 0.55% higher on the day at 74,088.99, reversing from the all-time high of 74,151.27.

Stock market news

• The main gainers on Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma. Meanwhile, the main laggards were Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Ultra Tech Cement, NTPC and JSW Steel.
• JM Financial lost nearly 14% in early trade as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed JM Financial Products Ltd to cease and desist from doing any form of financing against shares and debentures.
• LTIMindtree Ltd and Aramco Digital collaborated to establish a digital and IT services company in Saudi Arabia, focusing on disruptive digital services and industry 4.0 integration. 
• Wipro acquired a 27% stake in B2B sales platform SDVerse LLC for $5.85 million in cash.
• Bharti Airtel approved the allotment of 56.8 lakh shares to FCCB holders at a conversion rate of Rs 518 per share.
• The US stock markets stayed afloat on Wednesday, following US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Powell said that interest rate cuts are still likely in the coming months if inflation continues to ease.
• Meanwhile, the US private sector added 140,000 jobs in February, an increase from the upwardly revised 111,000 in January but a bit below the expected 150,000 additions, ADP reported on Wednesday.
• The number of job openings on the last business day of January stood at 8.86 million, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Wednesday. The data followed 8.88 million (revised from 9.02 million) openings in December and came in slightly below the market forecast of 8.9 million.
• Markets are currently pricing in about a 70% chance that the Fed could begin easing rates in June, slightly higher than a 63% probability seen a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
• It’s a holiday-shortened week for the Indian markets, as they will be closed, in observance of the Mahashivratri festival on Friday.
• The main event risks for markets this week will be the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony and the all-important US Nonfarm Payrolls data. Powell will appear before the Senate Banking Committee later in the day.
• The focus continues to remain on the week-long China's National People's Congress (NPC) meeting which could flag new stimulus measures.