Domestic equity equity continued to remain volatile as benchmark equity indices settled mixed on Thursday as pain continued to dampen the Adani Group stocks, keeping traders hooked to the tenterhooks. Another bout of rout in Adani stocks disappointed the investors.
The cheer in the global markets failed to boost the morale of markets as Adani Group’s woes continued. The US Fed increased interest rates by 25 basis points and its tone turned slightly dovish. However, the headline peers rebound strongly from day’s low.
For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained 224.16 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 59,708.08. However, Nifty50 Index settled flat as it shed 5.9 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 17,610.40. BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled marginally higher, while India VIX dropped sharply over 6 per cent to 15.73-level.
Adani Group stocks continued to bleed. Adani Enterprises plunged another 27 per cent for the day after withdrawing FPO. Adani Transmission, Adani Green and Adani Total Gas hit a lower circuit of 10 per cent each. Adani Ports tumbled another 7 per cent, whereas Adani Power and Adani Wilmar were locked in the seller’s circuit of 5 per cent each.
The rout in Adani group stocks continued to play havoc as benchmark indices gyrated sharply intra-day before recouping lost ground on buying in IT and banking stocks. However, power, energy, oil & gas, and utility stocks were plundered as investors continued to exit in view of dampening sentiment, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.
“Technically, the Nifty hovered between 17,450 to 17,650 range and also formed an inside body candle on daily charts which indicates the continuation of a range bound activity in the near future. However, a pullback rally is possible if the index trades above 17,500. Above the same, it could move up to 17,700-17,750,” he said.
On a sectoral front, the Nifty metal index plunged more than 4 per cent, whereas pharma, PSU bank and financial services indices also settled lower. FMCG and IT index rose over 2 per cent each, whereas private bank index shed about a per cent.
Barring the Adani Group stocks, UPL plunged the most, falling 6 per cent. HDFC Life Insurance shed 4 per cent, whereas Either Motors and Divis Labs settled 3 per cent lower each. Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Power Grid, NTPC and Tata Steel declined 2 per cent each.
Among the gainers, Britannia Industries and ITC jumped 5 per cent each to hit their new record highs, whereas IndusInd Bank jumped 4 per cent. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Wipro and TCS gained 2 per cent for the day. HCL Technologies and Axis Bank were up 2 per cent each.
Despite a growth oriented budget, drop in crude prices and upside in the global market, the domestic market is not able to gain because of the Adani saga having a ripple impact on the investors, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“In addition, the premium valuation of India continues to weigh down the performance compared to other emerging markets which are expecting upside in the economy. The global markets are positive in assumption of being in the last phase of the rate hikes,” he said.
A total of 3,627 stocks traded for the day on BSE, of which 1,829 settled lower, while 1,668 settled higher. Remaining 130 stocks ended unchanged. A total 151 stocks hit an upper circuit on BSE, whereas 225 stocks hit the lower circuit during the trading session.
In the broader markets, Monarch Networth Capital extended its cuts for another session as the stock dived 10 per cent for the day. TCI Express and Omaxe were also down per cent. Nelcast, DB Corp and Birlasoft declined 8 per cent during the session.
On the contrary, Sterling Tools jumped 11 per cent, whereas Welspun and Atul Auto rose 9 per cent each. Bombay Burmah Trading Company, Clean Science and Technology and Optiemus Infracom advanced 8 per cent during the day.
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