Benchmarks turn rangebound; IT shares slide

The frontline indices continued to trade with modest losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered below the 22,300 level. IT shares declined for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 412.82 points or 0.56% to 73,459.47. The Nifty 50 index declined 116.95 points or 0.52% to 22,288.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.55%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,430 shares rose and 2,340 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index registered 60.6 in February, down from 61.8 in January. Despite having slipped, the headline index was comfortably above the neutral mark of 50.0 and signalled a sharp rate of expansion that was well above the series history (since December 2005).

With both manufacturing production and services activity in India increasing during February, there was a further upturn in private sector output. The HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index slipped from a six-month high of 61.2 in January to 60.6, indicating a softer but sharp rate of expansion.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of R K Swamy received 2,73,57,050 bids for shares as against 82,32,946 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:30 IST on Tuesday (5 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 3.32 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (4 March 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 270 to 288 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The initial public offer (IPO) of J G Chemicals received 55,21,001 bids for shares as against 81,68,714 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:30 IST on Tuesday (5 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 0.68 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (5 March 2024) and it will close on Thursday (7 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 210 to 221 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 67 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index declined 1.69% to 36,682.50. The index slipped 2.45% in two trading sessions.

Persistent Systems (down 2.01%), Mphasis (down 1.95%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 1.83%), Infosys (down 1.58%), Coforge (down 1.47%), LTIMindtree (down 1.38%), HCL Technologies (down 1.29%), Wipro (down 0.81%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.67%) and L&T Technology Services (down 0.15%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NBCC (India) rose 0.68%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, HSCC (India) has been awarded with a work order worth Rs 92 crore from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education And Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) gained 1.21% after the company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) to develop green energy and autonomous vessels.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors showed their disappointment at Beijing's plans to support the economy as its week-long annual session of parliament, the National People's Congress, got underway.

Chinas Two Sessions meeting got under way, with investors watching out for the details of its economic plans after the country projected a GDP growth target of around 5% for 2024. The country also expects the inflation rate to rise to around 3%.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, backing away from record highs, while US Treasury yields ticked higher as investors looked ahead to key jobs data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony later in the week.

All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress. In his semiannual testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, he is reportedly expected to double down on his message that theres no rush to cut rates.

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