Domestic equity markets extended their weakness for the second straight session ahead of the US Federal Reserve chair’s speech later in the day. Traders would be looking for the monetary tightening guidance in the coming days after strong US jobs data.
Back home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would announce its monetary policy meeting outcome on Wednesday, which may add to some volatility at Dalal street. Adani Group continued to hog the limelight as most of the conglomerate’s stocks climbed today, whereas intense FII selling remains a concern for traders.
For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex declined 220.86 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 60,286.04, whereas Nifty50 Index settled at 17,721.50, falling 43.10 points, or 0.24 per cent. However, broader markets ended mixed as BSE midcap index was marginally up and smallcap index settled in the red. India VIX dropped about 4 per cent to 14.12-level.
Markets witnessed caution with a negative bias through the trading session, as investors booked profit ahead of the RBI’s credit policy meeting. It has been more or less a range-bound market in the last few sessions as investors don’t want to risk by taking long exposure to equities given the current uncertainty in global markets, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.
Technically, on intraday charts, Nifty has consistently found resistance near the 17800 level and has also formed a lower top formation which is indicating temporary weakness. As long as the index trades below 17800, the selling pressure is likely to continue. Below which, the nifty could clip till 17600-17550,” Chouhan said.
Among the sectors, Nifty realty index rose about a per cent, whereas private bank and financial services indices barely managed to settle in green. Nifty FMCG and auto index tanked a per cent, each, followed by a big drop in pharma, IT and metal indices.
Among the Adani stocks, Adani Enterprises soared over 15 per cent, whereas Adani Wilmar hit an upper circuit of 5 per cent. Adani Ports and Ambuja Cements pared up early gains after Q3 results but ended the day on a positive note. Adani Power, Adani Total Gas and Adani Green Energy hit lower circuits of 5 per cent, respectively. Adani Transmission was slightly down.
In the Nifty50 pack, Tata Steel tanked 5 per cent after reporting a net loss in December 2022 quarter. Hindalco also tumbled 4 per cent after its subsidiary Novelis reported a muted performance. ITC shed 3 per cent, whereas Hero MotoCorp, Maruti, Sun Pharma and HUL were down 2 per cent each.
Among the gainers, Dr Reddy’s rose 2 per cent, highest after Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises. Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto were among the other top gainers on the 50-share pack.
Sentiments in the domestic market were hammered by bears that dominated the US market post the release of strong jobs data, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. “Global markets are currently driven by central bank policies and the surge in bond yields in expectation of more rate actions. A recovery was seen in the second half of the day as US futures inched higher as investors await Powell’s speech,” he said.
A total of 3,622 stocks traded for the day on BSE, of which 1,902 settled lower, while 1,588 settled higher. The remaining 132 stocks ended unchanged. A total of 162 stocks hit an upper circuit on BSE, whereas 197 stocks hit the lower circuit levels.
In the broader markets, Apar Industries surged another 15 per cent, whereas BF Investments jumped 14 per cent. Gland Pharma surged over 11 per cent, whereas Power Mech Projects gained 8 per cent. Music Broadcast, Gravita India, Kirloskar Industries and Action Construction Equipments surged 7-8 per cent, each.
Among the losers, Fairchem Organics plunged 13 per cent after a flop show in the December 2022 quarter, whereas Mold-Tek Packaging was down 10 per cent. Rajesh Exports, Tata Metaliks, Tata Steel Long Products and Balaji Amines declined 6-8 per cent each.
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