Indices slide on weak Asian stocks; Nifty drops below 17,000

The benchmark indices dropped in early trade, extending its prior five-day slide. The Nifty declined below the key 17,000 level. Weak Asian stocks, worries of US Fed interest hike, geo-political tensions of Russia invading Ukraine and rising crude oil prices impacted sentiment adversely.

At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 595.92 points or 1.04% at 56,895.59. The Nifty 50 index lost 151.80 points or 0.89% at 16,997.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.55%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 974 shares rose and 1,816 shares fell. A total of 74 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,751.58 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 74.88 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 January 2022, provisional data showed.

Upcoming Nifty 50 Results:

Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.83%) and Cipla (down 0.41%) will announce their quarterly results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Axis Bank advanced 2.05%. The private sector bank`s net profit increased by 224% to Rs 3,614 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 1,117 crore in Q3 FY21. Total income in the third quarter rose by 15% YoY to Rs 21,101 crore. The bank`s operating profit for the quarter grew 17% Y-o-Y and 4% Q-o-Q to Rs 6,162 crore.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) declined 2.98%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 80.73 crore in Q3 FY22 against Rs 58.14 crore in Q3 FY21. Total income rose to Rs 130.77 crore from Rs 96.09 crore Y-o-Y.

IndiaMART InterMESH slumped 8.78%. The company has announced its participation in the Series B Investment Round of Simply Vyapar Apps (Vyapar), of Rs 217.6 crore.

Sudarshan Chemical Industries skid 4.74%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 36.38 crore in Q3 FY22 against Rs 39.15 crore in Q3 FY21. Total income rose to Rs 603.32 crore from Rs 508.93 crore Y-o-Y.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading lower on Tuesday after a volatile session overnight on Wall Street.

South Korea`s economy grew 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea said in a press release on Tuesday. For the full year, the country`s GDP expanded by 4% in 2021, the fastest in 11 years, as per reports.

Wall Street bounced back from a steep sell-off late in the session to close higher on Monday, with bargain hunters pushing the indexes into positive territory by closing bell. Investors are eyeing the Fed`s policy meeting, which begins on Tuesday and wraps up Wednesday. Market participants will be looking for any signals on how much the central bank will raise interest rates this year and when it will start.

Geopolitical tensions are in focus, with fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine growing, as the military buildup at the border shows no sign of dissipating and crisis talks remain at an impasse, as per reports.

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