The key equity benchmarks extended losses for the third session on Thursday. Domestic investors remained cautious ahead of RBI's monetary policy meeting outcome on Friday. The Nifty ended below the 17,650 level after hitting the day's high of 17,787.50 in early afternoon trade. Selling was wide spread. However, pharma and healthcare stocks sailed through the tide.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 575.46 points or 0.97% at 59,034.95. The Nifty 50 index shed 168.10 points or 0.94% at 17,639.55. The 50-unit index has fallen 2.3% in three straight sessions.
Adani Ports & SEZ (down 3.46%), Titan Company (down 3.27%), HDFC (down 2.76%), ONGC (down 2.20%) and TCS (down 1.93%) were major losers from the Nifty pack.
The broader market witnessed profit selling. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.75%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, shares 1,694 rose and 1,714 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.13% to 18.9975.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor-headed rate setting panel -- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) -- started its first meeting of the 2022-23 fiscal on 6 April 2022. The outcome will be announced on 8 April 2022. In the previous meeting, MPC left the key policy rates unchanged.
Economy:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said that South Asian economies are expected to expand collectively by 7.0% in 2022 and 7.4% in 2023, with Indiathe subregion's largest economyexpected to grow 7.5% this fiscal year and 8.0% next fiscal year.
ADB said developing Asia's economies are forecast to grow 5.2% this year and 5.3% in 2023, thanks to a robust recovery in domestic demand and continued expansion in exports. "However, uncertainties stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continuing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and tightening by the United States Federal Reserve pose risks to the outlook," ADB Outlook said.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.916% from its previous close of 6.917%.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.9900, compared with its close of 75.8450 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 3 June 2022 settlement rose 0.35% to Rs 51,775.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.06% to 99.66.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement rose $1.82 or 1.80% at $102.89 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Most European shares advanced while most Asian shares declined on Thursday, as volatility continued following details of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary tightening plans and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
US Fed meeting minutes released on Wednesday showed that officials planned to reduce their trillions in bond holdings by a consensus amount of around $95 billion.
Meanwhile, policymakers indicated that one or more 50-basis-point interest rate hikes could be warranted to battle surging inflation.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Titan Company declined 3.27%. The company on Wednesday said it finished the January-March quarter of fiscal year 2021-22 on a satisfactory note despite disruptions. However, its jewellery business reported a 4% year-on-year (YoY) decline in revenue during the quarter.
The watches and wearables division saw good growth momentum amidst a challenging external environment with sales increasing across all offline channels, it said. The segment's revenue grew 12% YoY. Meanwhile, the eyecare division recorded 5% YoY growth, while other businesses saw 23% rise in revenue.
Godrej Consumer Products advanced 3.83% after the company said that it expects to deliver a higher than mid-single-digit sales growth for the quarter ended 31 March 2022. In its quarterly update for Q4 FY22, the company said that some of the short term challenges such as unprecedented global commodity inflation and the performance of the Indonesia business, continued to play out during the quarter, impacting consumption and margins. The Indian FMCG industry witnessed a consumption slowdown over the last few months. The sector continued to be hit hard by higher inflation levels, leading to successive price increases, and impacting volumes. Despite this, the company said it remains competitive given the relatively non-discretionary, mass pricing of its portfolio. "We have been gaining market share in 85% of our categories," Godrej Consumer said.
HDFC Bank fell 2.19%. The bank said that it plans to raise capital of Rs 50,000 crore by issuing bonds through private placement mode. In a regulatory filing made after trading hours yesterday, the bank announced a proposal to raise funds by issuing perpetual debt instruments (part of Additional Tier I capital), Tier-II capital bonds and long-term bonds (financing of infrastructure and affordable housing) up to total amount of Rs 50,000 crore over the period of next twelve months through private placement mode. The board of directors would consider this proposal at its ensuing board meeting to be held on 16 April 2022.
Tata Motors fell 1.47%. The commercial vehicle maker secured an order of 1300 commercial vehicles from VRL Logistics, a leader in surface logistics in India, to expand VRL Logistics' commercial vehicle fleet portfolio in the country.
Maruti Suzuki India declined 1.38% after the company announced that it will voluntarily recall 19,731 units of its EECO model. The recall is being undertaken to inspect and rectify 'incorrect marking of wheel rim size', if any, on the wheel in some of these vehicles, company stated.
Paras Defence and Space Technologies rallied 6.66% after the company was awarded the Transfer of Technology (ToT) of optronic submarine periscope as developed by IRDE, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
BLS International Services surged 15.69% after the company said its board will consider proposal to issue bonus shares on 13 April 2022.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals advanced 1.64%. The company secured a tentative approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) of Dabigatran Etexilate capsules. The capsules are indicated for the reduction of risk of stroke and systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation in adult patients, treatment of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in adult patients.
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