Barometers trade with minor cuts; European shares slide

The domestic equity indices extended losses in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,650 mark after hitting the day`s high of 17,666.15 in early afternoon trade. Metal, realty and pharma shares advanced while IT, media and PSU bank stocks declined.

At 13:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 118.93 points or 0.20% to 59,608.08. The Nifty 50 index shed 27.45 points or 0.16% to 17,632.70.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.06% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.40%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,883 shares rose and 1,532 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Investors turned cautious as uncertainty over the path of U.S. monetary policy largely outweighed optimism over an economic recovery in China. Focus is now on the Fed`s Beige Book report, due later on Wednesday, for the central bank`s take on the state of the U.S. economy.

Market concerns about rising interest rates returned in recent sessions as hawkish comments from Fed officials and indications of some economic resilience in the US stoked apprehension about when the Fed Fed will pause its rate hike cycle.

COVID-19 Update:

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday, India has logged 10,542 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases have increased to 63,562. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,48,45,401). The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.39 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was pegged at 5.1 per cent. Recovery rate currently stands at 98.67%.

Gainers & Losers:

Divi`s Laboratories (up 2.27%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.34%), Tata Steel (up 1.30%), JSW Steel (up 1.17%) and Coal India (up 0.88%) were the top Nifty gainers.

HCL Technologies (down 1.96%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.84%), Infosys (down 1.61%), NTPC (down 1.44%) and Asian Paints (down 1.42%) were the top Nifty losers.

IndusInd Bank fell 1.84%. The bank announced that its GIFT City IBU branch has entered into a $100 million long-term loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to facilitate the growth of Japanese construction equipment companies in India.

Stocks in Spotlight:

State Bank of India (SBI) shed 0.42%. The executive committee of the central Board has approved long term fund raising in single / multiple tranches up to US$ 2 billion through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during FY 2023-24.

Pidilite Industries lost 0.99%. The company has entered into an agreement with Basic Adhesives LLC, USA for purchase of certain assets comprising of technology, design, trademark, copyright, domain name and trade dress etc at an agreed consideration to be paid by company in tranches over a period of time.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company slipped 4.04%. The company reported net profit of Rs 436.96 crore in Q4 March 2023 as compared to net profit of Rs 312.51 crore in Q4 March 2022. Total income rose to Rs 5255.58 crore in Q4 March 2023 from Rs 4636.34 crore in Q4 March 2022.

Bank of India shed 0.02%. The bank`s board of directors approved the raising of capital for the FY 2023-24 aggregating up to Rs 6,500 crore, through the issue of fresh equity capital in the form of FPO/QIP/Rights issue/preferential issue and/or Basel III compliant additional Tier-1 (AT-1) upto an amount of Rs.4,500 crores, and issue of Basel III compliant Tier-2 bonds upto an amount of Rs.2,000 crore.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals advanced 0.56% after the company announced the settlement of patent litigation for generic, Zetia, a cholesterol treatment drug in the United States. The trial for this case is scheduled to begin on 19 April 2023 in the US courts.

Piramal Pharma jumped 9.17%. The company informed that US FDA has issued an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for the manufacturing facility located at Sellersville, USA and the inspection has now been successfully closed by the US FDA.

Zydus Lifesciences was up 0.16%. The company has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Estradiol Transdermal System USP. Estradiol transdermal system is indicated for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe declined while Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as Wall Street`s earnings season continued and U.S. Federal Reserve officials delivered mixed signals on future rate hikes.

Overnight in the US, all three major indexes closed near the flatline as investors digested earnings reports, including from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic reportedly said that he sees one more rate hike of 25 basis points, before pausing to see its impact on the economy. This would take the U.S. Federal Funds rate to 5% to 5.25%. Bostic`s words come as St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard reportedly told that he favors a higher terminal rate of between 5.50% and 5.75%.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver in a speech the economic priorities for the U.S. on China, as per reports. Yellen will deliver a speech at Johns Hopkins University`s School of Advanced International Studies on Thursday.

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