Benchmarks decline for 6th day; Nifty holds 17,000 mark

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with modest losses on Wednesday, extending declines for the sixth day in a row. The benchmarks indices witnessed fag-end selling after hovering in the positive terrain for most part of the session. After hitting the day`s high of 17,220.70 in early trade, the Nifty reversed gains and ended a tad above the 17,000 mark. Autos and financial shares declined while realty, consumer durables and metal shares advanced.

The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 68.62 points or 0.12% at 57,232.06. The Nifty 50 index declined 28.95 points or 0.17% at 17,063.25.

Reliance Industries (down 0.60%), ICICI Bank (down 0.89%), HDFC Bank (down 0.63%) and HDFC (down 0.67%) were major drags.

Escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine continued to weigh on domestic sentiment. There are concerns that rising tensions in Eastern Europe will boost crude oil prices and could spark global supply chain disruption, resulting in rising input costs. Thousands of U.S. and European companies do business with suppliers in Russia and Ukraine. Many of them could be at risk during a prolonged military conflict.

The Sensex has declined 1.57% and the Nifty has corrected 1.67% in six straight days.

The broader indices ended higher on Wednesday. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.6% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.93%.

Buyers outnumbered the sellers. On the BSE, 2,197 shares rose and 1,167 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 7.95% to 24.54.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.742% as compared with 6.749% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.61, compared with its close of 74.84 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement fell 0.54% to Rs 50,055.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.15% at 95.88.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement shed 46 cents or 0.48% to $96.38 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Shares Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday as investors continued monitoring the intensifying crisis surrounding Ukraine. Markets in Japan were closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday Russia has begun �an invasion� of Ukraine and announced sanctions against Russian banks and the country`s sovereign debt, among others. Biden`s announcement came following the Russian parliament`s approval of President Vladimir Putin`s Tuesday request to use military force outside the country`s borders.

Australia announced sanctions on eight of President Vladimir Putin`s top security advisors on Wednesday following Russia`s `unwarranted, unprovoked, unacceptable` invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Japan also issued santions on Russia, terming its move unacceptable violation of Ukraine`s sovereignty. Japan`s sanctions include prohibiting the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan and freezing the assets of certain Russian individuals as well as restricting travel to Japan, Kishida said.

In the US, the IHS Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 52.5 in February from 50.5. The IHS Markit services PMI jumped to 56 in February from 51.1 the month prior.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Realty index rose 3.15% to 443.55. The index tumbled 5.66% in the past four sessions.

DLF (up 6.18%), Sobha (up 5.22%), Sunteck Realty (up 5.08%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 4.56%), Oberoi Realty (up 4.15%), Godrej Properties (up 2.28%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.10%), Macrotech Developers (up 0.41%) and Brigade Enterprises (up 0.36%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hero MotoCorp declined 2.22% while Bharat Petroleum Corporation rose 0.52%. The two-wheel manufacturer collaborated with the PSU OMC to set up charging infrastructure for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) across the country. Hero MotoCorp is the first automotive OEM to tie up with the leading Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to set up charging infrastructure across India. BPCL, accelerating its focus on new business segments for sustainable growth, announced in September 2021 that it is converting 7,000 conventional retail outlets into energy stations providing multiple fuelling options, which will include EV charging facility also, in the medium to long term.

Bajaj Healthcare (BHL) rose 4.93% after the company announced that it has launched Magnesium L-Threonate in nutraceutical segment. The company said the addressable market size is approximately Rs 150 crore.

SIS fell 0.37% after the company said that it has won a two-year contract worth approximately Rs 225 crore to provide security solutions at 18 sites of Mahanadi Coalfields in India. The contract has an option to renew for a further one-year period. As part of the contract, SIS will deploy security personnel in different categories to provide security services across 18 sites of Mahanadi Coalfields at Sambalpur, Bhubaneshwar, IB Valley Coalfields and Talcher Coalfields.

Mahindra CIE Automotive fell 1.86% after the company`s consolidated net profit declined 28.15% to Rs 80.23 crore on 5.44% rise in net sales to Rs 2064.15 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020. Profit before tax (PBT) fell 30.06% to Rs 112.54 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020.

Jyoti Resins & Adhesives soared 9.90% after Jagdish Nathalal Patel HUF, forming part of promoter group, acquired 1900 equity shares, or 0.048% equity, of the company on 21 February 2022. With this, Jagdish Nathalal Patel HUF has increased the stake to 3900 (0.098% equity) in Jyoti Resins & Adhesives. Earlier on 17 February 2022, Jagdish Nathalal Patel HUF bought 2000 shares (0.05% equity) and Utkarsh Jagdishbhai Patel HUF bought 1471 shares (0.037% equity) in the company. As on 31 December 2021, promoters held 49.60% stake in Jyoti Resins & Adhesives. Jagdish Nathalal Patel held 15.19% stake while Utkarshkumar Jagdishbhai Patel held 10.05% stake.

Black Box declined 2.07%. The company`s board will consider stock split on 14 March 2022.

Pricol rose 0.13%. The company announced partnership with Sibros Technologies, Inc, USA, for providing telematics and connected vehicle solutions to the OEMs in Indian and ASEAN Markets across all vehicle segments. The agreement shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of signing. Pricol will develop the hardware and firmware as required by the customer. Meanwhile, Sibros will develop the software and provide its Saas platform for connected vehicle solutions with OTA updates as required by the customer for the technology.

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