Benchmarks edge lower; bank stocks decline

The key equity barometers declined further in mid morning trade. The Nifty continued to trade below the 18,000 mark. Bank stocks declined for fifth consecutive session.

At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 512.94 points or 0.84% to 60,241.92. The Nifty 50 index lost 140.70 points or 0.78% to 17,972.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.70% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.32%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1281 shares rose and 1973 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

Firm global crude prices and increasing expectations of March rate hike by US central bank dented investors` sentiment.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index slipped 0.52% to 38,013.00, extending decline for fifth consecutive session. The index has lost 1.86% in five sessions.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.66%), ICICI Bank (down 1.05%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.73%), SBI (down 0.37%), Axis Bank (down 0.25%) and AU Small Finance Bank (down 0.22%) declined while Bandhan Bank (up 1.54%) and RBL Bank (up 0.87%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company slumped 6.46% to Rs 568.25. On a consolidated basis, the life insurer`s net profit rose 2.53% to Rs 312 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020. While the company`s net premium income rose 1.15% to Rs 9,073.97 crore, net income from investments slumped 96.18% to Rs 737 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

DCM Shriram jumped 7.56% to Rs 1089.60 after the company`s consolidated net profit jumped 38.4% to Rs 349.57 crore on a 26.3% decline in net sales to Rs 2,716.48 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Wednesday following an overnight sell-off on Wall Street.

US stocks fell sharply Tuesday as government bond yields hit Covid-era highs and after Goldman Sachs reported disappointing earnings. Microsoft announced that the software giant will buy video game company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion.

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