The benchmark indices came off day's low in mid-morning trade. Soaring crude oil prices amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to spook investors. The Nifty regained 15,900 mark after hitting the day's low of 15,741.55 in the morning trade. Metal and IT shares bucked the weak market trend. However, banks, autos and financial stocks were under pressure.
At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1,283.60 points or 2.36% at 53,046.18. The Nifty 50 index lost 337.70 points or 2.08% at 15,907.65.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.87% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.75%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 779 shares rose and 2,497 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 7,631.02 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,738.99 crore in the Indian equity market on 4 March 2022, provisional data showed.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement was up 9.64% at $129.50 a barrel. It has jumped 66% so far in calendar year 2022. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements. A spike in crude oil prices has raised concerns over the impact on inflation, currency and input cost for companies across sectors. Higher crude oil prices could increase India's expenditure and adversely affects the fiscal deficit.
Politics:
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On the political front, the seventh and final phase of Uttar Pradesh elections 2022 began at 7 A.M. and will end at 6 P.M. today. This will conclude the fiercely contested polls held in five states. The results of exit polls for elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will be broadcast from 7 P.M. today, after the end of polling. Votes will be counted on 10 March 2022.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index declined 3.75% to 9,525.65. The index slumped 12.57% in five trading sessions.
Maruti Suzuki India (down 4.93%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 4.72%), Ashok Leyland (down 4.68%), Tata Motors (down 4.39%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 4.28%) were the top losers in the Auto segment.
TVS Motor Company dropped 4.31%. On Monday, the company announced the launch of TVS Raider in the 125cc segment for young customers in Bangladesh. TVS said the distinctly young and sporty motorcycle comes with first-in-class features such as an LCD digital speedometer, 3V i-Touch start, animalistic LED headlamp and first-in-segment under-seat storage. TVS Raider has an advanced 124.8 cc air & oil-cooled 3V engine, and churns a maximum power of 12.9 PS at 8,000 rpm and torque of 11.5 Nm at 6,500 rpm. The motorcycle has an acceleration of 0-60 km/h in 5.7 seconds.
Balkrishna Industries slipped 1.69%. The company has successfully commenced commercial production of the Brown Field Expansion and Debottlenecking project at Bhuj plant ahead of schedule. This will result in increased production of tires up to 50,000 MTPA (million tonnes per annum).
Stocks in Spotlight:
J.K. Cement tumbled 7.84%. The company said that its board has approved entering into paint business through a wholly owned subsidiary. The wholly owned subsidiary would undertake manufacturing, selling, trading, importing and exporting and otherwise dealing in all types of paints and allied products and services. The board of directors has approved an investment of up to Rs 600 crore spread over the first 5 years in the paints business.
Coal India advanced 2.29%. The state-run coal major reported total coal supplies at 608.15 million tonnes (MTs) as of 4 March 2022. Coal India (CIL) said it has moved past the previous highest coal off-take of 608.14 MT achieved in FY19. CIL chief Pramod Agrawal pointed out the "sustained efforts and inspired performance of CIL's subsidiaries and has written to them "to end FY22 on a sound note scaling even more highs." Almost all CIL subsidiaries are ahead in their respective coal off-take numbers over corresponding period last year, the company said in a statement. CIL said it is concentrating its efforts to increase its supplies further in a bid to touch 670 MTs off-take mark in FY22. CIL had pipped the 575 MT total coal despatch of FY21 on 16 February itself. Off-take ending FY20 was around 580 MT.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks declined on Monday trade, with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war continuing to weigh on investor sentiment globally.
China lowered its GDP target to 5.5% for this year from last year's 6.1%. The new target for the second-largest economy was announced by Premier Li Keqiang in his work report presented to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament which opened its annual session in Beijing on March 5.
Oil prices spiked further after the media reported that the United States and European allies are exploring banning imports of Russian oil.
US stock market ended lower on Friday as the war in Ukraine overshadowed an acceleration in US jobs growth last month that pointed to strength in the economy.
The International Monetary Fund on Saturday said the War in Ukraine will have 'severe impact' on global economy. "While the situation remains highly fluid and the outlook is subject to extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences are already very serious," the IMF said.
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