Indices drift lower in early trade; breadth weak

The domestic equity barometers are trading lower in early trade amid selling pressure in index pivotals. At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 213.89 points or 0.35% to 61,502.16. The Nifty 50 index was down 81.75 points to 18,337.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Coal India (down 3.31%), Hindalco Industries (down 3.14%), Eicher Motors (down 1.65%), Tata Steel (down 1.39%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 1.38%) were the top losers.

However, Divi`s Laboratories (up 1.08%), Britannia Industries (up 0.40%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.32%), HDFC (up 0.27%) and Bharti Airtel (up 0.22%) nudged higher.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.84% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.46%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 699 shares rose and 1628 shares fell. A total of 95 shares were unchanged.

Results Today:

Jubilant FoodWorks (down 2.86%), Just Dial (down 0.51%), Tata Communications (down 1.57%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 1.57%), Angel Broking (up 1.29%), Havells India (down 1.55%), L&T Finance Holdings (down 1.08%), Shoppers Stop (down 0.90%), Supreme Petrochem (down 1.81%), Syngene International (down 1.09%), TajGVK Hotels & Resorts (down 0.95%), Tata Steel Long Products (down 2.27%) and Tejas Networks (down 4.14%) will announce their quarterly results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.20% to Rs 2726. RIL`s subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures has reportedly acquired 52% equity stake in Ritika Pvt Ltd that owns Ritu Kumar, Label Ritu Kumar, RI Ritu Kumar, aark�, and Ritu Kumar Home and Living, including complete acquisition of Everstone`s 35% stake in the company.

Nestle India added 0.67% to Rs 19507.20. The company`s net profit rose 5.16% to Rs 617.37 crore on 9.63% increase in net sales to Rs 3,864.97 crore in Q3 September 2021 over Q3 September 2020. In overall terms, the third quarter saw strong high single digit volume & mix growth in domestic sales, the company said.

L&T Technology Services rose 1.22% to Rs 5186.05. The company`s consolidated net income rose 6.4% to Rs 230 crore on 5.9% increase in revenue to Rs 1607.70 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q1 June 2021. The company raised FY22 USD revenue growth guidance to 19-20%.

ACC advanced 3.23% to Rs 2318. The cement maker`s consolidated profit after tax rose 24% to Rs 450 crore on 5.33% increase in net sales to Rs 3653 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company fell 2.98% to Rs 640.45. The company reported profit after tax of Rs 445 crore in Q2FY22 against Rs 303 crore in Q2FY21. Net premium income increased to Rs 9286 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal from Rs 8572 crore a year ago.

Global markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Wednesday as China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged. China on Wednesday kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85% while the five-year LPR was also held steady at 4.65%.

U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday as major companies continued to report strong third-quarter earnings, easing concerns that persistent Covid cases and rising costs would derail corporate America`s profit recovery.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its 2021 economic growth forecast for Asia after the highly infectious Covid-19 delta variant caused a spike in cases in parts of the region. The IMF said it expects Asia`s economy to grow by 6.5% in 2021, compared with its April forecast for a 7.6% expansion. The region`s growth will be led by China and India, the fund added. The IMF expects China to grow 8% this year and India by 9.5% in the fiscal year that ends next March.

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