The key equity barometers extended their downfall and hit fresh intraday lows in afternoon trade. After opening at 17,755.35, the Nifty incurred some significant losses and currently traded below the 17,600 level.
At 13:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 803.32 points or 1.32% to 59,869.40. The Nifty 50 index lost 240.60 points or 1.35% to 17,586.10.
Adani Enterprises (down 10.49%), Adani Ports (down 5.20%), Grasim (down 3.22%), JSW Steel (down 2.75%) and Bajaj Finserv (down 2.53%) were the top Nifty losers.
Meanwhile, ITC (up .43%), Divi's Lab (up 0.39%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.15%) and Cipla (up 0.09%) managed to trade with some gains.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.01%.
Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 861 shares rose and 2,535 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.
Investors back home will await the minutes of RBI's (latest) February monetary policy meeting, while the Fed's (FOMC) February policy meeting minutes will also be tracked globally.
Business activity in the US unexpectedly increased in February to reach its highest level in eight months. This indicated that the Fed will need to continue raising interest rates for longer.
A global research firm has reportedly said that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by a quarter-percentage point at its March, May and June meetings in response to a stronger economic expansion. It further reportedly said that the prospects for the Fed returning to 50 basis-point moves have not been ruled out completely.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bharat Electronics (BEL) fell 0.52%. BEL has signed an MoU with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO, for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
Biocon declined 1.70%. The company has issued and allotted unlisted, secured, rated, redeemable, non-convertible debentures of face value of Rs one lakh each on private placement basis in three Series.
Manappuram Finance slipped 1.42%. The Kerala-based gold NBFC on Wednesday (22 February 2023) announced that its board may consider raising funds through debt securities in March 2023.
West Coast Paper Mills tumbled 4.03%. The company said that its production at the paper and paper board division at Dandeli has been disrupted due to illegal strike of contract workers.
Global Markets:
European markets opened lower while their Asian peers mostly declined on Wednesday as as investors gauge the global economic outlook and await the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
Japan's producer prices index rose 1.6% on an annualized basis, slightly higher than December's figure of 1.5%. The PPI measures the average movements of prices received by domestic producers for goods and services sold.
Meanwhile, the central bank of New Zealand has raised interest rates by 50 basis points from 4.25% to 4.75, in line with expectations. In a release, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand indicated that interest rates could still rise, to ensure inflation returns to its target range over the medium term.
U.S. stocks dropped Tuesday as higher rates continue to pressure market sentiment, and the latest batch of retail earnings raised concerns about the state of the consumer.
The Fed on Wednesday is scheduled to release the minutes from its January 31-February 1 meeting. The central bank hiked rates by 25 basis points at that gathering.
US business activity unexpectedly rebounded in February, reaching its highest level in eight months, according to a survey on Tuesday. S&P Global said its flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased to 50.2 this month from a final reading of 46.8 in January.
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