Indices trade almost flat, Metal stocks lose shine

The domestic equity benchmarks traded near the flat line with tiny gains in the mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,050 mark after the day`s high of 17,176.45 in the early trade. Metal shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 59.86 points or 0.10% to 57,205.08. The Nifty 50 index gained 6.15 points or 0.04% to 17,022.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.09%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,492 shares rose and 1,714 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)`s six-member Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet this week during 28-30 September 2022. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the MPC decision on 30 September 2022, the last date of the meeting. The RBI is widely expected to maintain the balancing act between growth and inflation.

In the past three policy reviews, the RBI`s rate-setting panel has raised 140 basis points in total since May this year. Currently, the repo rate, the interest rate at which the RBI lends to the commercial bank, stands at 5.40%.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 1.92% to 5,667.25, extending its losing run for the third session. The index dropped 7.11% in three trading sessions.

Adani Enterprises (down 2.73%), Welspun Corp (down 2.49%), Tata Steel (down 2.1%), Jindal Stainless (down 1.96%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.84%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.74%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 1.36%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.33%), JSW Steel (down 1.24%) and Hindalco Industries (down 1.06%) tumbled.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra Logistics (MLL) rose 1.90% after MLL and Rivigo Services (RSPL) announced that they had reached an agreement for purchase of RSPL`s B2B express business by MLL. Under the terms of the agreement, MLL will acquire the express business through a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA), including the customers, team and assets of RPSL`s B2B express business, RSPL`s technology platform and the Rivigo brand. RSPL will continue to own its truck fleet & the rights to the full truck load (FTL) operations. The acquisition will augment MLL`s existing B2B express business leveraging Rivigo`s strong network, technology and process capabilities.

Orient Bell gained 1.76% after the company announced completion of expansion at its Hoskote plant, Bengaluru, Karnataka involving capex of Rs 34 crore well ahead of schedule. With this expansion, the total capacity of the company has increased from 32 million square meters per annum (MSM p.a.) to 33.8 MSM p.a., which includes 10 MSM p.a. of the associated entities.

Shakti Pumps (India) jumped 6.29%. The manufacturer of energy‐efficient pumps and motors said that the company has received advance worth $6 million from Export‐Import Bank of India (EXIM bank) on behalf of the Government of Uganda represented by the Ministry of Water and Environment for supplying solar‐powered water pumping system. The company will begin the project execution from October 2022.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday after sharp falls on Monday. China`s industrial profits for January to August fell 2.1% from the same period a year ago, official data showed.

Wall Street slid deeper into a bear market on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow closing lower as investors fretted that the Federal Reserve`s aggressive campaign against inflation could throw the US economy into a sharp downturn.

The Bank of England on Monday said it is monitoring financial market developments �very closely� after a dramatic turmoil saw the British pound. The BOE governor said the central bank`s monetary policy committee would make a �full assessment� at its next scheduled meeting in November, �and act accordingly.� �The MPC will not hesitate to change interest rates as necessary to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its� responsibility, he added.

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