At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 231.24 points, or 0.31%, to 73,961.47. The Nifty 50 index added 94.95 points, or 0.43%, to 22,432.25.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.66%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.53%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,909 shares rose and 921 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The BJP secured two out of three Member of Legislative Council (MLC) seats in Telangana, winning the prestigious Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Graduates constituency. BJP’s Chinnamile Anji Reddy triumphed by a margin of 5,106 votes after the second-preference count of votes. He received a total of 98,637 votes, while his immediate Congress rival V Narender Reddy got 93,531.

Union minister Bandi Sanjay cited the BJP's extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.

A day before, the BJP and Progressive Recognized Teachers Union (PRTU) had bagged one each of the two teachers’ MLC seats for which elections were held. M Komaraiah of the BJP bagged the Medak-Nizamabad-Karimnagar-Adilabad teachers’ MLC seat while PRTU candidate P. Sripal Reddy won the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam teachers’ constituency.

Meanwhile, celebrations erupted among BJP supporters in Karimnagar, with Central Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and party workers gathering in a victory rally. He hailed the win as a “Ramzan gift” to the Congress and declared that the BJP has firmly established itself as a formidable alternative in Telangana. He said BJP’s extensive campaign efforts across Northern Telangana as key to their success.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.27% to 13.63. The Nifty 27 March 2025 futures were trading at 22,532.70, at a premium of 100.45 points as compared with the spot at 22,432.25.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 March 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 56.3 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 70.3 lakh contracts was seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index jumped 1.49% to 9,938.55. The index rallied 4.46% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Castrol India (up 10.84%), Mahanagar Gas (up 3.47%), Indraprastha Gas (up 3.27%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.57%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 2.13%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 2.07%), Reliance Industries (up 1.77%), Gujarat Gas (up 1.39%), GAIL (India) (up 0.91%) and Adani Total Gas (up 0.82%) advanced.

On the other hand, Aegis Logistics (down 1.48%), Petronet LNG (down 0.58%) and Oil India (down 0.42%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharat Forge added 1.58% after the company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kalyani Powertrain, entered into a technology licensing agreement with Taiwan's Compal Electronics to manufacture X86 platform servers in India.

Lakshya Powertech hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 5 crore from Euroteck Environmental for testing & commissioning support services for WTP projects.

Hindustan Zinc rallied 3.45% after the company’s board is scheduled to meet on 10th March 2025 to consider raising funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

Trident Lifeline jumped 5.82% after the firm announced a strategic alliance with the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad (NIPER-A), for the technology transfer of Vorinostat—a rare cancer treatment drug.