Barometers trade with substantial cuts; metal shares lacklustre

The headline equity indices traded with significant losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,200 level after hitting the days high of 24,394.45 in the morning trade. Metal shares witnessed selling pressure for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 545.75 points or 0.69% to 80,138.68. The Nifty 50 index lost 154.15 points or 0.63% to 24,181.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.65% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.73%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,402 shares rose and 2,550 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

 

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index slipped 1.39% to 9,067.10. The index fell 4.63% in four consecutive trading sessions.

NMDC (down 6.33%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.57%), JSW Steel (down 2.06%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.82%), Tata Steel (down 1.26%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.23%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.08%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.9%), Adani Enterprises (down 0.89%) and Jindal Stainless (down 0.69%) declined.

On the other hand, Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 1.29%) and Welspun Corp (up 0.45%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.09% to 6.864 as compared with the previous close of 6.870.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.9425, compared with its close of 84.9125 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2024 settlement added 0.05% to Rs 76,912.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.01% to 106.97.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.21% to 4.394.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2024 settlement gained 37 cents, or 0.51% to $73.56 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

KFin Technologies rallied 4.59% after the company announced its entry into BlackRock's Aladdin Provider Network.

Alkem Laboratories advanced 2.16% after the company, along with its subsidiary, Enzene Biosciences has entered into an agreement with Sunsure Solarpark Twenty Two and Sunsure Energy to acquire a 26% stake in Sunsure Solarpark.

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