Barometers turn rangebound; metal shares lose sheen

The frontline indices traded in a narrow range with moderate losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 21,600 level. Metal shares declined after advancing in the past eight trading sessions.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 323.61 points or 0.45% to 71,567.87. The Nifty 50 index lost 97.90 points or 0.45% to 21,568.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.28%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,058 shares rose and 1,599 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers� Index survey, conducted by S&P Global, fell to 18-month low of 54.9 in December as against 56 in November. Despite the fall, the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI was indicative of a marked improvement in the health of the sector.

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI survey, conducted by S&P Global, showed the sector still expanding strongly in December despite a loss of growth momentum. There were softer, albeit sharp, increases in factory orders and output, while business confidence towards the year-ahead outlook strengthened.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal declined 1.48% to 7,905.05. The index jumped 6.51% in the past eight trading sessions.

National Aluminium Company (down 4.85%), JSW Steel (down 3.36%), Hindalco Industries (down 3.33%), Steel Authority of India (down 2.68%) , Welspun Corp (down 2.15%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 2.06%), Tata Steel (down 1.93%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.26%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 1.02%) and Vedanta (down 0.45%) slipped.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bank of Maharashtra rallied 3.94% after the bank�s gross advances stood at Rs 1,88,796 crore as of 31 December 2023, recording a growth of 20.28% as against Rs 1,56,962 crore as of 31 December 2022. The bank reported a 17.90% growth in total deposit to Rs 2,45,738 crore as of 31 December 2023 as against Rs 2,08,436 crore as of 31 December 2022

MOIL advanced 1.16% after the company recorded 31% year-over-year (YoY) increase in production of manganese ore in December 2023 to 1.85 lakh MT.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) rose 0.21%. The bank said that its domestic deposits increased 9.14% to Rs 12,89,318 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 11,81,361 crore in Q3 FY23. The bank`s domestic advances stood at Rs 9,35,163 crore in Q3 FY24, up 13.9% year on year.

Global Markets:

Asian markets declined on Wednesday, with stocks in South Korea and Taiwan leading declines as major tech firms including chipmakers came under pressure after Barclays downgraded Apple. Apple shares dropped on Tuesday, after Barclays cut the iPhone maker�s rating to underweight and trimmed its price target to $160 from $161. Japan�s markets are closed until Thursday.

US stocks retreated Tuesday, setting Wall Street up for a downbeat start to 2024 after a winning year that left the S&P 500 just short of a new record high. Tech stocks lost ground after Barclays analysts downgraded their rating on Apple`s stock, citing concerns about demand for new iPhones.

The U.S. manufacturing sector shrank more than expected in December, according to a new purchasing manager�s index from S&P Global. The Manufacturing PMI came in at 47.9 in December, down from 49.4 in November.

Market focus is now on the Fed minutes for the December policy meeting due later in the day. The ISM survey on U.S. manufacturing is also due later on Wednesday, as well as job openings data, before a private payrolls report and jobless claims results on Thursday. The closely watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday.

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