The key equity barometers extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the key 17,900 level. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today.
At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 550.12 points or 0.91% to 60,107.33. The Nifty 50 index lost 137.10 points or 0.76% to 17,905.85.
Bajaj Finserv (down 5.75%), ICICI Bank (down 2.06%), Axis Bank (down 1.58%), Titan (down 1.51%) and Power Grid Corp (down 1.45%) were the top Nifty losers.
Cipla (up 1.97%), Britannia (up 1.69%), HDFC Life (up 1.67%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.61%) and JSW Steel (up 1.48%) outperformed.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.31% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.44%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,339 shares rose and 2,046 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bajaj Finance slumped 7.51%. The NBFC said that new loans booked by the company during Q3 FY23 stood at 7.8 million, up by 5.4% as compared with the same period last year. The company had booked 7.4 million loans in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Marico gained 1.50%. The FMCG major said that its India business marked a slight improvement over the preceding quarter to post a mid-single-digit volume growth in Q3 FY23. Consolidated revenue in the quarter grew in low single digits on a year-on-year basis.
Godrej Consumer Products advanced 2.31%. The FMCG company said that despite the demand softness in India, it expects to deliver double-digit sales growth backed by low single-digit volume growth in Q3 FY23. During the quarter, the Indian FMCG sector witnessed slow growth driven by poor rural consumption and a slowdown post the festive season. There has also been a sequential improvement from high single-digit sales growth and mid single-digit volume decline in the previous quarter.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) slipped 0.45%. The company said that it had handled approximately 25.1 MMT of total cargo in December 2022, recording a growth of 8% in container volumes.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) advanced 1.07%. HUL has completed the acquisition of 19.8% shareholding of Nutritionalab, for a total consideration of Rs 70 crore in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Definitive Agreements dated 8 December 2022.
NTPC rose 1.23%. NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), wholly owned subsidiary of of the company, signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) for development of renewable energy based power projects to tap business opportunities in RE and supply of 400 MW round the clock renewable power for requirements of HPCL.
Global markets:
Markets in Europe declined across the board while their Asian peers edged higher on Thursday.
Global markets focus on economic data from the region, and the latest signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve on inflation and interest rates.
The Caixin China general services purchasing manager's index showed easing of pressure on the sector for the month of December, with a reading of 48, maintaining in contraction territory. The print rose from seeing a six-month low in the previous month with a reading of 46.7.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment in the European region was upbeat after the recently released inflation data from France and Germany indicated that consumer price increases across the euro zone are slowing.
US stocks snapped a two-day losing streak as Fed minutes released Wednesday from the December meeting showed higher interest rates are to remain as long as inflation stays high.
The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its Dec. 13-14 meeting, which showed central bank officials expect rates to be higher for some time. In view of the persistent and unacceptably high level of inflation, several participants commented that historical experience cautioned against prematurely loosening monetary policy.
US manufacturing contracted further in December. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday that its manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.4 last month from 49.0 in November, contracting for a second straight month.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
