The domestic equity indices traded flat in early trade, amid heightened volatility. The Nifty traded above the 16,250 mark. Metal stocks slumped after the Central Government announced its decision to levy duty on steel exports.
At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 24.08 points or 0.04% to 54,350.47. The Nifty 50 index added 6.70 points or 0.04% to 16,272.85.
Tata Steel (down 13.81%), JSW Steel (down 11.19%), Hindalco (down 5.99%), ITC (down 1.80%) and Coal India (down 1.56%) were the top Nifty losers.
Maruti Suzuki (up 2.84%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2.70%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.69%), Apollo Hospitals (up 2.04%) and Titan Company (up 1.70%) managed to outperform.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.11%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,452 shares rose and 1,153 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
On Saturday, the Centre had cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre to give relief to consumers battered by high fuel prices that have also pushed inflation to a multi-year high. The excise duty cut would translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre on diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
The government has waived customs duty on the import of some raw materials, including coking coal and ferronickel, used by the steel industry. The duty on exports of iron ore has been hiked up to 50% and on a few steel intermediaries to 15%, according to a notification. The duty changes will be effective from Sunday.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Power Grid Corporation of India was up 0.07%. The state-run company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 4,156.44 crore in Q4 FY22 as compared to net profit of Rs 3,526.23 crore in Q4 FY21. Total income rose to Rs 11,067.94 crore from Rs 10,816.33 crore.
NTPC rose 1.40%. The company reported an 11.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 5,199.5 crore on a 23.2% rise in net sales to Rs 37,085.07 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.
Shree Cement was down 0.07%. The cement maker reported a 17.7% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 657.24 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 798.43 crore posted in Q4 FY21. Consolidated net revenue from operations grew 3.1% year on year to Rs 4364.24 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2022.
One 97 Communications (Paytm) shed 0.43%. The company reported a consolidated net loss to Rs 763 crore in Q4 March 2022, higher than net loss of Rs 441.80 crore in Q4 March 2021. Its consolidated revenue from operations grew 89% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,540.90 crore in the quarter under review compared with Rs 815.30 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Global markets:
Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday as concern over slowdown in global economic growth and hawkish statement from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell.
The Fed Chair said that the central bank would notch up interest rates as high as needed taking rates above neutral (rate at which economic activity is neither simulated nor constrained) to curb soaring inflation.
Wall Street ended mixed on Friday after a volatile session that saw Tesla slump and other growth stocks also lose ground.
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