HDFC twins, IT stocks drag Sensex 566pts down; Nifty holds 17800; PSBs zoom

CLOSING BELL: HDFC Bank, HDFC, and HDFC Life were the biggest laggards on the 50-pack index as they fell between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent

Market LIVE: Sensex down 500pts, Nifty below 17,850; IT, HDFC twins drag

CLOSING BELL

Equity markets remained quiet on Wednesday, trading in the negative zone for a second straight day, as one of the US Fed official's hawkish comments and rising bond yields globally halted rally.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 564 points, or 0.94 per cent, to end at 59,610 while the Nifty50 shut shop at 17,808, down 150 points or 0.83 per cent.

HDFC Bank, HDFC, and HDFC Life were the biggest laggards on the 50-pack index as they fell between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent. READ MORE

Besides, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech M, Shree Cement, TCS, Divis Labs, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, and M&M were the other losers, sliding upwards of 1 per cent each.

These losses were, however, trimmed by gains in Coal India, Tata Steel, NTPC, UPL, PowerGrid, BPCL, and Bharti Airtel. These shares added in the range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advanced about 0.4 per cent each on the back of up to 20 per cent gains in YES Bank, Tata Power, Adani Power, Vodafone Idea, OnMobile Global, and Vaibhav Global.

Among the lot, shares of Tata Power hit a fresh record high of Rs 296.5, up 8 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade, in an otherwise weak market, on the back of heavy volume on improved business outlook. The stock of Tata Group electric utilities company has rallied 24 per cent in the past four trading days. READ MORE

Shares of Vodafone Idea (Vi), too, moved 7 per cent higher to Rs 11.06 on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade on the back of heavy volumes, in an otherwise weak market. The stock of the telecom services company was trading higher for the fourth straight day and has rallied 14 per cent during the same period. READ MORE

That apart, shares of Gautam Adani-led Adani Group companies continued their upward march with Adani Enterprises and Adani Green Energy hitting respective life-time highs after these two companies along with Adani Transmission announced plans to raise funds. Technical charts suggest up to 18 per cent upside in Group stocks. READ MORE

On the flipside, shares of Ruchi Soya Industries continued to witness selling pressure, and fell as much as 19 per cent to Rs 706 on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade amid heavy volumes ahead of the listing of shares allotted via follow-on-public offering (FPO). The stock of edible oil company has slipped 28 per cent in the past one week, as compared to a 2.8 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ MORE

Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank and Metal indices were the only gainers in this subdued market, rising 2 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. On the downside, the Nifty Financial Services and IT indices slipped 1.6 per cent each, followed by the Nifty Bank index, down 1.2 per cent.

Global markets

European markets inched lower on Wednesday against a backdrop of hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve officials and further sanctions against Russia. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3 per cent in early trade, with autos shedding 0.9 per cent to lead losses while food and beverage stocks nudged 0.3 per cent higher. The UK's FTSE100, Germany's DAX,and France's CAC40, meanwhile, eased 0.5-1.5 per cent.

On Wall Street, Nasdaq Futures shed nearly 1 per cent while Dow Jones and S&P500 futures slipped 0.5 per cent each.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended 1.6 per cent lower, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.88 per cent, and China's CSI300 fell 0.3 per cent.

4:13 PM

Rs 1.4-trn outflow, equity market sees worst sell-off by FPIs in FY22

Foreign portfolio investors dumped Indian shares worth record Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22, after pumping in whopping Rs 2.7 lakh crore in the preceding fiscal. READ MORE HERE

Indian economy, market, stocks, investors, investments, FDI, FPI, foreign portfolio investors

4:10 PM

Technical view: Rahul Sharma Director, Head- Technical & Derivatives Research, JM Financial Services

Nifty formed a dark cloud cover on the daily charts while Nifty Bank bore the brunt of the selling pressure. India VIX formed a bullish hammer candlestick pattern.Europe ended mixed while US markets closed lower with a considerable spike in S&P500 VIX.

4:08 PM

Market view: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

The main indices are muted due to drop in HDFC group stocks after the rally, the subdued performance of IT sector in anticipation of weak results on a QoQ basis and weak global cues. The broad market has maintained its momentum due to the good performance of Mid & Small caps. We can expect volatility in the near-term ahead the RBI policy meet which is expected to hold the rates but increase inflation forecast.

4:05 PM

Indian Energy Exchange's trade volume jumps 38% in FY22

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) clocked a 38 per cent growth in trade volume at 1,02,035 million units in financial year 2021-22. READ MORE HERE

FTIL sells remaining 11% stake to exit Indian Energy Exchange

4:03 PM

Technical View: Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

The benchmark index found resistance around the previous low before settling on a negative note. On the daily chart, the index has been moving within a rising channel where it has fallen to the lower band of the said channel. Going forward, immediate recovery from the current level is expected. However, failure to hold above the lower band of the rising channel may trigger selling pressure in the market. On the lower end, support is visible at 17750 below which the Nifty may drift down towards 17450 over the short term.

4:02 PM

Market view: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

On a day when the HDFC Twins witnessed profit booking, several interesting trends were visible in trade despite benchmark indices losing almost a percentage in afternoon trade. Investors seem to put ESG on the back burner for a while when free cash flows and positive tailwinds emerge stronger. While Metal stocks saw keen interest supported by cooling coking coal prices, Power stocks were in high demand ahead of the surge in summer demand. The broader markets displayed buoyancy with advances outnumbering declines as PSU Banks, Sugar, Paper & Hospitality stocks were keenly sought after today.

3:57 PM