Indian share markets continued to trade weak in the afternoon session and finished in red as caution prevailed ahead of UP state elections. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 98 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down by 23 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap finished & the S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 0.3% and 0.6% respectively. Losses were largely seen in oil & gas stocks, metal stocks & realty stocks.
Tata Steel share price was the top Sensex loser and slipped 1.9% after the company said it will close the British Steel Pension Scheme to future accrual from March 31 and employees will get a new contributory scheme for their retirement savings thereafter.
Kotak Mahindra Bank pared gains and finished up by 0.9% after rising as much 2.69%, following reports of stake sale to Canadian pension fund. According to media reports, Uday Kotak is in discussions for a sale of over 3% stake in the bank to Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec
Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 0.43%, while the Nikkei 225 & Shanghai Composite fell 0.47% and 0.05% respectively. European markets too are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.21%, while the CAC 40 & FTSE 100 are down 0.30% and 0.06% respectively.
The rupee was trading at Rs 66.63 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 52.69 at the time of writing.
Fitch Ratings in its latest report has raised the forecast for India's GDP growth in the current financial year 2016-17 to 7.1% from earlier 6.9%. The projection of growth for this fiscal is in line with the estimates of CSO and global think-tank OECD.
Moving on to news from stocks in PSU sector. According to an article in The Financial Express, the government is looking to raise close to Rs 90 billion by selling 10% equity stake each in the state-run companies Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Oil India Ltd.
BHEL share price and Oil India Ltd share price finished the day down by 1.3% and 2.2% respectively.
Meanwhile, Cadila Healthcare share price finished on an encouraging note (up 1.3%) after the company received final approval from the USFDA to market Tizanidine Hydrochloride Capsules.
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