Key indices are trading lower in early trade, extending two-day slide. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 181.17 points or 0.58% at 31,272.34. The Nifty 50 index was down 45.75 points or 0.5% at 9,159.85.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.5%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.53%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 477 shares rose and 695 shares fell. A total of 45 shares were unchanged.
Meanwhile, the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 and Rs 13 per litre, respectively. This is the steepest such hike in excise duty. Retail fuel prices remain unchanged. These duty rate changes will come into effect from May 6. Global crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as they got a boost from optimism around ongoing production cuts and a recovery in demand as economies reopen. Brent settled 13.86% higher at $30.97 per barrel.
Local stocks extended their losing run for the second day on Tuesday, led by weakness in banks and FMCG shares. The barometer S&P BSE Sensex fell 261.84 points or 0.83% at 31,453.51. The Nifty 50 index lost 87.90 points or 0.95% at 9,205.60.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,059.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were also net sellers to the tune of Rs 995.30 crore in the Indian equity market on Tuesday, provisional data showed.
Stocks in news:
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) advanced 3.36%. APSEZ reported 72% fall in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 361 crore on 5% fall in operating revenue to Rs 2921 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. In FY21, the company will reduce operating costs and capex will be curtailed to Rs 2000 crore. Ports fall under essential services and as such all ports are operating efficiently during this period of crises to ensure that supply chain of essential goods is not disrupted, the company said.
Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.62%. RIL said that the company has elected to redeem, in whole, all outstanding US$200,000,000 5% Senior Notes Due 2035 along with interest on or around 5 June 2020.
Wipro shed 0.79%. Wipro has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Maharashtra under which it will repurpose one of its information technology campuses in Hinjewadi, Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care COVID-19 hospital in four weeks and hand it over to the state government by May 30. The hospital will be converted back to an IT facility after a year.
Rallis India lost 5.01%. Rallis India said that the company recorded consolidated revenue of Rs 346 crore in Q4 March 2020, a growth of 2% over revenue of Rs 340 crore in Q4 March 2019. Loss before tax (after exceptional items) was at Rs 3 crore, as against profit before tax (after exceptional items) of Rs 6 crore.
United Spirits declined 2.69%. United Spirits said that on the basis of permissions received from the governmental authorities so far, the company has resumed operations at majority of its manufacturing facilities with reduced capacity. The company is expecting to receive few more permissions in the next few days.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed as investors weigh opening up of economies from the lockdown with caution. Markets in Japan and Thailand are closed on Wednesday for holidays.
In US, stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday for a second straight day, but finished well off session highs, as investors watched business restrictions begin to ease in the U.S. and Europe and progress toward an early vaccine to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US economy could start to recover in the second half of the year after what is shaping up to be the worst recession in decades, but growth is likely to be slow and uneven, several top Federal Reserve policymakers indicated on Tuesday.
On the economic front, the U.S. trade deficit widened by almost 12% in March as the coronavirus pandemic grounded international flights, froze the global tourism industry and caused massive disruptions in the exchange of goods such as new cars and iPhones. Imports fell 6.2%, but U.S. exports tumbled an even deeper 9.6% to cause the trade gap to rise. The U.S. deficit rose to $44.4 billion in March from $39.8 billion in February, the government said Tuesday.
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