MARKET PARES LOSSES; FMCG STOCKS TUMBLE

The benchmark indices came of day`s low in early afternoon trade. Autos, metals and FMCG scrips were under pressure. The Nifty regained the 16,250 mark.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 759.22 points or 1.38% at 54,343.46. The Nifty 50 index shed 242.60 points or 1.47% at 16,255.45.

The continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring oil prices and continued FIIs selling dampened sentiment. FIIs were net sellers Rs 6,645 crore while DIIs were net buyers Rs 4,799 crore yesterday.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 2.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.22%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,045 shares rose and 2,149 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

India`s services sector output increased to 51.8 in February from 51.5 in January, pointing to a moderate rate of expansion, as per a report by IHS Markit. Greater bookings, better demand conditions and the retreat of the pandemic drove this moderate expansion.

The composite PMI output rose to 53.5 in February from 53.0 in January, signaling a solid rate of expansion that was nonetheless below its long-run average, the IHS Markit stated.

Economy:

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for increasing India`s share in global trade to 10% and taking India`s share of exports in GDP to about 25%. Addressing the closing session of the Post-Budget Webinar on `Make in India for the World`, Goyal said these are ambitious targets, but doable.

He said other countries are also talking of programmes very similar to AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Goyal called for taking India among the top three nations in Global Services Trade.

Stating that the government is looking at a more liberal regulatory regime for the Drones sector barring the Defence systems, he said that the Industry should aim to make India become the manufacturing hub of Drones.

He called for integrating quality in full value chain and said it should not just come into picture once the final product is made. Underlining the need to develop technical skills of tomorrow for the industry, the Minister called for the need to reorient academic courses to make it relevant to the "needs of today."

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.47% to 28.2875. The Nifty 24 February 2022 futures were trading at 16,266, at a premium of 10.55 points as compared with the spot at 16,255.45.

The Nifty option chain for 31 March 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 21 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 44.8 lakh contracts was seen at 16,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index fell 1.80% to 34,390.70. The index lost 3.16% in three sessions.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (down 4.77%), United Breweries (UBL) (down 4.69%), United Spirits (down 3.55%), Varun Beverages (down 3.52%) and Emami (down 3.03%) were the losers gainers in the FMCG segment.

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