Benchmarks pare losses; auto shares decline

The domestic equity barometers further pared losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 17,850 mark. Auto shares witnessed some bit of profit booking after advancing in the past five sessions.

At 12:29 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 377.73 points or 0.63% to 59,798.77. The Nifty 50 index shed 94.90 points or 0.53% to 17,862.50.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.40% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.76%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, shares 2,214 rose and 1,087 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 53.6 in March 2022 from 51.8 in February 2022.

The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. The indices are then seasonally adjusted.

The latest number pointed to the strongest rate of expansion since last December. The upturn stemmed from new business wins, strengthening demand conditions and greater consumer footfall due to the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index stood at 54.3 in March, up from 53.5 in February. The number highlighted the strongest rate of expansion in 2022 so far. Manufacturers signalled a sharper increase than service providers, but growth slowed among the former and accelerated at the latter.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.50% to 18.77. The Nifty 28 April 2022 futures were trading at 17,929, at a premium of 66.50 points as compared with the spot at 17,862.50.

The Nifty option chain for 28 April 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 21.5 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 27.4 lakh contracts was seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index declined 0.19% to 10,916.15. The index had advanced 4.99% in the past five sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.94%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.93%), Bharat Forge (down 0.86%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 0.42%) declined.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors (up 0.63%), Maruti Suzuki (up 0.58%) and Eicher Motors (up 0.34%) advanced.

Force Motors rose 1.68% to Rs 1195 after the company`s domestic sales increased by 46% YoY to 2,392 units in March 2022. Export sales aggregated to 298 units, down 30% YoY. The company`s production in March 2022 declined by 7% YoY to 1,830 units.

TVS Motor Company fell 0.28% to Rs 634. Jio-bp and TVS Motor Company announced their plans to explore the creation of a public EV charging infrastructure for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the country, building on Jio-bp`s growing network in this space.

Under this proposed partnership, the customers of TVS electric vehicles are expected to get access to the widespread charging network of Jio-bp, which is also open to other vehicles.

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