The key indices edged lower and hit the day's low in morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,000 mark. Oil & gas stocks were in demand. Investors remained cautious as they geared up for the biggest U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike since 2000 and awaited cues from the American central bank for tackling inflation.
At 10:25 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex was down 224.38 points or 0.39% to 56,751.61. The Nifty 50 index lost 73.70 points or 0.43% to 16,995.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.35% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.15%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1616 shares rose while 1447 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.
The US Fed later today is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points and detail plans for the reduction of its balance sheet. Key for markets will be Fed Chair Jerome Powell's commentary, which might contain hawkish surprises.
LIC IPO:
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The initial public offering (IPO) of insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India received bids for 50.44 lakh shares as against 16.20 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 10:12 IST on Wednesday (4 May 2022). The issue was subscribed 0.03 times.
The issue opened today (4 May 2022) and it will remain open for bidding till 9th May 2022. The IPO price band is Rs 902 to Rs 949 per equity share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 15 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Buzzing Index:
Oil and Gas stocks were trading with gains, with the Nifty Oil & Gas index rising 0.68% to 8,243.30. Among the index components, ONGC (up 6.05%), Oil India (up 5.45%), Petronet LNG (up 2.31%), HPCL (up 1.43%), IOC (up 1.42%), GAIL (up 1.36%) and Mahanagar Gas (up 1.04%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
SBI Cards and Payments Services fell 1.68% to Rs 806.45. The company said that Nalin Negi has tendered his resignation from the post of chief financial officer (CFO) of the company.
RailTel Corporation of India gained 2.15% to Rs 106.75. The company has received work order of Rs 107.44 crore from South Western Railway (SWR).
Cosmo Films jumped 8.17% to Rs 2005.50. The company's board will consider issuing bonus shares on 9 May 2022. At the same meeting, the board will also consider the audited financial results for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2022.
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