Benchmarks trade with minor cuts; European mkt opens lower

The key equity indices traded near the day`s low with small losses in afternoon trade. The traded below the 17,600 level after hitting the day`s high of 17,684.45 in early trade. Consumer durables, private bank and bank shares advanced while pharma, healthcare and FMCG stocks declined.

At 13:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 21.98 points or 0.04% to 59,545.82. The Nifty 50 index lost 21.10 points or 0.12% to 17,597.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.19%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,848 shares rose and 1,555 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

Cautiousness among investors was on the rise after strong inflation readings from the UK and Euro Zone cemented expectations of continued rate hikes by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank going forward. Hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials exacerbated the likelihood that the American central bank will pause its rate hike cycle as soon as June.

Gainers & Losers:

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 1.21%), Asian Paints (up 1.11%), NTPC (up 0.96%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.95%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 0.93%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Divi`s Laboratories (down 3.65%), Eicher Motors (down 1.64%), Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories (down 1.58%), Hindustan Unilever (down 1.19%) and Cipla (down 1.16%) were the top Nifty losers.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) added 1.21%. The board of directors of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone is scheduled on 22 April 2023, to consider first and a partial buyback of certain of its debt securities, either denominated in INR or USD, in this financial year, subject to market conditions.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors rose 0.94%. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the luxury vehicle maker and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, has announced plans to invest 15 billion pounds over the next five years.

UltraTech Cement skid 0.64%. The company announced an increase in the capacity of its grinding unit at Patliputra, Bihar to 4.7 mtpa with the successful commissioning of its 2.2 mtpa brownfield expansion. The company`s total grey cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 129.15 mtpa.

Tata Communications jumped 3.68%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 326.64 crore in Q4 March 2023 as compared to net profit of Rs 368.67 crore in Q4 March 2022. Total income rose to Rs 4,630.45 crore in Q4 March 2023 from Rs 4,526.55 crore in Q4 March 2022.

ICICI Securities fell 4.37% after the company`s consolidated net profit declined to Rs 262.7 crore in Q4 March 2023 as compared to net profit of Rs 340.3 crore in Q4 March 2022. Total income shed marginally to Rs 885.2 crore in Q4 March 2023 from Rs 892.3 crore in Q4 March 2022.

Emkay Global Financial Services was locked in 20% upper circuit. The company has received in-principle approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India, investment management department for sponsoring a mutual fund under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.

Global Markets:

European shares slide while Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors on Wall Street digest more earnings reports from names like Netflix, IBM and Morgan Stanley.

Japan posted a trade deficit for a 20th consecutive month in March. The country`s trade deficit reached a record high of 21.7 trillion yen ($161.14 billion) for the twelve months ending March, a sharp spike from the 5.59 trillion yen recorded in the same period a month ago.

US stocks closed mostly flat on Wednesday after earnings reports from Netflix and Morgan Stanley as investors worried about the Federal Reserve`s next move on interest rates.

The banking crisis in March took its toll on financial activity, particularly in the New York and San Francisco regions, according to the Federal Reserve`s periodic economic review released Wednesday.

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