Benchmarks trade with minor cuts, media shares decline

The frontline indices traded with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. The Nifty managed to trade above the 17,650 mark after hitting the day`s low of 17,650.50 in mid-morning trade. Media shares tumbled for the seventh consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 66.68 points or 0.11% to 59,844.07. The Nifty 50 index lost 18.90 points or 0.11% to 17,687.95.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.58% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.41%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,968 shares rose and 1,434 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.

Investors await corporate results this week, along with comments from the Fed Reserve officials for cues on interest rate hikes. Stronger-than-expected Chinese economic data failed to raise the investor sentiment. Bank of International Settlements head Agust�n Carstens has reportedly warned that interest rates may need to stay higher for longer due to high inflation and rising risks of instability in the global economy.

COVID-19 Update:

According to the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 7,633 fresh cases of COVID-19 within the past 24 hours. Presently, there are 61,233 active cases in the nation while 6,702 individuals recuperated from the disease yesterday. The Ministry revealed a recovery rate of 98.68%. Moreover, over 220 crore 66 lakh vaccine doses have been administered throughout the country up until now.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.34% to 12.22. The Nifty 27 April 2023 futures were trading at 17,730, at a premium of 42.05 points as compared with the spot at 17,687.95.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 April 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 43.3 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 57.3 lakh contracts were seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index shed 0.45% to 1,708.15, extending losses for the seventh straight session. The index slipped 1.57% in seven trading sessions.

TV18 Broadcast (down 4.23%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 3.84%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 3.4%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.86%), Dish TV India (down 0.74%), New Delhi Television (down 0.29%) edged lower.

On the other hand, Navneet Education (up 1.52%), Sun TV Network (up 0.7%) and PVR (up 0.6%) advanced.

TV18 Broadcast slipped 4.23% after the company`s consolidated net profit slumped 75.5% to Rs 35.19 crore in Q4 FY23 as against Rs 143.61 crore recorded in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,405.90 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023 from Rs 1,496.22 crore posted in the Q4 FY22, registering a decline of 6%.

Network18 Media & Investments fell 3.84% after the media company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 36.78 crore in Q4 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 61.85 crore posted in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations declined 8.5% to Rs 1,483.72 crore in quarter ended 31 March 2023 from Rs 1,621.09 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Chemicals tumbled 6.22% after the company slashed the prices of light, dense and GRANPLUS soda ash by 1%-4% for all the dispatches across India effective from 17 April 2023. The company said that all the ex-depot prices are also revised accordingly.

Quick Heal Technologies tumbled 7.18% crore after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 6.64 crore in Q4 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 28.09 crore posted in Q4 FY22. Revenue from opearation slumped 52.5% to Rs 49.28 crore in Q4 FY23 from Rs 103.71 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.

Samvardhana Motherson International added 0.25%. The company said that its USA-based indirect subsidiary SMP Automotive Systems Alabama Inc. has completed the acquisition of all the assets of Bolta US for $16 million.

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