Market plunges as indices close below key levels; NSE VIX above 16 mark

The stock market bore witness to steep declines on Monday as benchmark indices closed below key levels. The Nifty settled below the 21,650 mark after hitting day�s high of 21,831.70 in early trade. Initial optimism gave way to rampant selling, primarily driven by a surge in exchange margin requirements, particularly impacting mid and small cap positions. Notable declines were observed in PSU banks, although the pharma and IT sectors managed to weather the storm.

The S&P BSE Sensex plummeted by 523 points (0.73%) to reach 71,072.49, while the Nifty 50 index experienced a decline of 166.45 points (0.76%), closing at 21,616.05.

ITC (down 2.11%), ICICI Bank (down 1.49%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.90%) were major drags.

The underperformance of both the S&P BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices was stark, with respective drops of 2.62% and 3.16%.

The market breadth heavily favored losers. On the BSE, 980 shares rose and 3015 shares fell. A total of 84 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 3.98% to 16.06.

Economy:

India�s forex reserves jumped $5.736 billion to $622.469 billion for the week ended February 2, according to the latest RBI data. In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by $591 million to $616.733 billion.

For the week ended February 2, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $5.186 billion to $55.331 billion, as per the data of RBI.

Gold reserves increased by $608 million to $48.088 billion during the week. Special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $58 million to $18.19 billion, the central bank said.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper dropped 0.21% to 7.099 as compared with previous close 7.114.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.0175, compared with its close of 83.0700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement declined 0.21% to Rs 62,164.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.06% to 104.18.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.41% to 4.176.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement shed 80 cents or 0.97% to $81.39 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European stocks saw marginal gains with investors keeping a close eye on the interest rate scenario. Asian markets closed higher at the beginning of a holiday-shortened week, although China remained shut.

Wall Street also closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 surpassing the milestone 5,000 level after revised inflation data for December showed a lower figure than initially reported.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hero MotoCorp dropped 4.47%. The company reported 51% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 1,073 crore on a 21% increase in revenue to Rs 9,724 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Q3 FY23.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation`s (ONGC) slipped 3.4% after the company�s standalone net profit dropped 13.66% to Rs 9,535.67 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 11,044.73 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined 9.83% year on year (YoY) to Rs 34,788.07 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.

SJVN hit lower circuit of 20% after the company reported 51.65% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 138.97 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 287.42 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations fell 1.57% to Rs 543.31 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 551.99 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

Tata Power Company tumbled about 8%. The company reported 2.28% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1076.12 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 1052.14 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 3.69% to Rs 14,651 crore in Q3 FY24 from Rs 14,129.12 crore in Q3 FY23.

NHPC slumped 16% after the power generation company reported 26.76% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 491.90 crore on 20.41% slide in revenue from operations to Rs 2,055.50 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) tanked 9% after the company reported net loss of Rs 5.35 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with net profit of Rs 38.79 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 33.41% YoY to Rs 191.53 crore in Q3 FY24.

Godrej Industries fell over 4% after the diversified company�s consolidated net profit tumbled 66.17% to Rs 160.41 crore on 6.57% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 3,590.08 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23.

Shipping Corporation of India slumped over 9% after the company�s consolidated net profit slumped 49.61% to Rs 134.35 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 266.63 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined 10.4% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,340.68 crore in December 2023 quarter.

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hit a lower circuit of 10% after the company reported 29.89% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.94 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 22.73 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 14.31% to Rs 134.93 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 118.04 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) slumped 13.47% after the company reported 1.79% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,604.22 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 1,633.4 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 8.43% year on year (YoY) to Rs 6,741.86 crore in the third quarter of FY24.

New Listing:

Shares of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels settled at Rs 203.45 on the BSE, representing a premium of 31.26% as compared with the issue price of Rs 155.

The scrip was listed at Rs 187, exhibiting a premium of 20.65% to the issue price. The stock has hit a high of 223.50 and a low of 170.15. On the BSE, over 49.06 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter today.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Entero Healthcare Solutions received bids for 13,85,604 shares as against 71,50,100 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Monday (12 February 2024). The issue was subscribed 19%.

The issue opened for bidding on Friday (9 February 2024) and it will close on Tuesday (13 February 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 1,195-1,258 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 10 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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