The domestic equity indices pared losses and traded near the flat line in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty marched above the 17,700 level. Realty stocks witnessed selling pressure for two consecutive sessions.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 10.03 points or 0.02% to 60,214.43. The Nifty 50 index advanced 5.40 points or 0.30% to 17,716.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.34% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.09%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,759 shares rose and 1,649 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment nosedived after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's stated that the central bank will likely need to raise interest rates for a longer period. He said that the Fed is all set to take larger rate hikes following strong economic data and will likely move in larger steps if future economic data indicates tougher measures to control inflation. This would mark a reversal of the central bank's actions over the last two meetings when it trimmed the size of its rate hikes from 75 basis points to 25 basis points.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced to 7.467 from 7.418 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.09, compared with its close of 81.9250 during the previous trading session

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement declined 0.10% to Rs 54966.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 105.68.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.36% to 3.989.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement shed 7 cents or 0.08% to $83.22 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index declined 0.73% to 406.85. The index declined 1.25% in the two trading sessions.

Macrotech Developers (down 6.05%), Phoenix Mills (down 3.57%), Brigade Enterprises (down 2.49%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 1%) declined.

On the other hand, Oberoi Realty (up 2.34%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.68%) and Godrej Properties (up 1.24%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GAIL (India) rose 1.74% after the company said its board will consider interim dividend on Monday, 13 March 2023.

Meanwhile, in a separate announcement GAIL (India) said "The Force Majeure claimed by SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore Pte Ltd. (SMTS and erstwhile Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore Pte Ltd.) is still continuing. Pending restoration of LNG supplies from SMTS, production at our Pata Petrochemical plant has been ramped up now to full capacity through alternative supplies."

In 2012, GAIL had agreed to a 20-year deal with Russia's Gazprom for annual purchases of an average 2.5 million tonnes of LNG. Supplies under the contract began in 2018. However, Gazprom halted supplies of natural gas to GAIL (India) since June 2022 due to soaring global gas prices.

Dishman Carbogen Amcis jumped 6.05%. The company said that its board will consider fund raising through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on Friday, 10 March 2023.

Indraprastha Gas (IGL) rose 0.39%. The company entered into joint venture agreement (JV) with Genesis Gas Solutions (Genesis) to set up smart meter manufacturing plant with capital expenditure of Rs 110 crore.