Market slides for 4th session; Nifty holds 17,200; private banks buck trend

Domestic equity indices declined for the fourth consecutive session on Monday. The Nifty settled above the 17,200 mark after hitting the day`s low of 17,070.70 in initial trade. Banks stocks bucked weak market trend. On the other hand, metals, pharma and realty shares tumbled. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, firm crude oil prices and relentless selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued to put pressure on domestic shares.

The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 149.38 points or 0.26% at 57,683.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 69.65 points or 0.4% at 17,206.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.8% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 2.2%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 710 shares rose and 2778 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Preliminary Monsoon Forecast Guidance for 2022:

Skymet, India`s private weather forecasting solutions company, expects the upcoming Monsoon to be `normal`. Skymet intends to release a detailed report on the prospects of Monsoon 2022 in April. Skymet has been predicting Monsoon since 2012, except in 2020 when it abstained for strategic reasons.

"Monsoon has large inter-annual fluctuations in its arrival, intensity, duration, and withdrawal. It is rather early to decode all these aspects at this stage. However, there are precursors to get an early glimpse and gauge its health during the four-month-long season. The last two Monsoon seasons have been driven by back-to-back La Nina events, which has started shrinking now. It also means that Monsoon 2022 is going to be a devolving La Nina to start with and turn neutral later," it said in a statement.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Monday, as investors continued to watch the situation surrounding Ukraine.

China on Monday held steady on a benchmark lending rate, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) kept unchanged at 3.7%. The five-year LPR was also kept unchanged at 4.6%.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday agreed to work for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, as per reports. They also agreed on "the need to favour a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis and to do everything to achieve one", adding that both countries` foreign ministers would meet "in the coming days".

US President Joe Biden is also willing to meet Russia`s Vladimir Putin "at any time" to defuse Ukraine war tensions, as per reports, warning Russia appeared on the verge of invading its neighbor.

US stock market is closed on Monday for a holiday. Wall Street ended lower on Friday after escalating tensions in Ukraine and US warnings of a potential Russian invasion prompted investors to dump risky assets in the run-up to a long weekend.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.694% as compared with 6.663% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.55, compared with its close of 74.66 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement fell 0.12% to Rs 50,054.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.25% to 95.81.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement fell 3 cents at $93.51 a barrel.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Bank index rose 0.23% to 37,685.60. The index has risen 0.41% in two sessions.

Federal Bank (up 2.04%), HDFC Bank (up 0.73%), ICICI Bank (up 0.69%), AU Small Finance Bank (up 0.38%), Axis Bank (up 0.36%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.19%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 0.99%. Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), the subsidiary of RIL will land multi-terabit India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable system in Hulhumale, Maldives. The high capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect Hulhumale` directly with World`s major internet hubs in India and Singapore.

InterGlobe Aviation lost 1.9%. The aviation firm informed that Rakesh Gangwal, non-executive, non-independent director has tendered his resignation from the board of directors of the company vide his letter dated February 18, 2022, with immediate effect.

Capri Global Capital rose 0.20%. The company said it plans to enter the gold loan business and it will launch this business in the first half of the financial year 2022-23. The company aims to build a gold loan book size of Rs 8,000 crore and expand its network with 1500 branch locations over the next five years.

Power Finance Corporation (PFCL) rose 0.17%. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India sold 5.35 crore equity shares or 2.028% stake of PFCL between 1 November 2017 and 17 February 2022. Post transaction, LIC has decreased its shareholding in PFCL to 5.069%.

White Organic Retail rose 3.92% after the company said its board will consider bonus share issue on 28 February 2022.

Tata Power fell 0.35%. RWE and Tata Power agreed on a partnership to explore the potential for a joint development of offshore wind projects in India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Tata Power Renewable Energy, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Power and one of India`s largest integrated power companies, and RWE Renewables GmbH, one of the key player in offshore wind.

Equitas Small Finance Bank rose 3.84% after the company said it has raised Rs 550 crore in the qualified institutional placement of equities. The small finance bank sold 10,26,31,087 equity shares to qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of Rs 53.59 each, aggregating to Rs 5,49,99,99,952. The qualified institutions placement (QIP) Issue opened on 14 February 2022 and closed on 18 February 2022. The QIP will reduce the promoters holding to 75% and raise public shareholding to a minimum of 25%, as stipulated by the market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India.

The Phoenix Mills (PML) rose 1.26%. The company announced the execution of non‐binding term sheet to acquire balance 50% equity stake in Classic Mall Development Company (CMDCL) from Crest Ventures and Escort Developers, a 100% subsidiary of Crest Ventures. Currently, PML owns 50% stake in CMDCL while the balance 50% stake is owned by Crest Ventures (46.35%) and Escorts Developers (3.65%); completion of the stake purchase will make CMDCL a subsidiary of PML.

Kansai Nerolac Paints fell 0.41%. The paint maker appointed Anuj Jain as the managing director (MD) for a term of five years, with effect from 1 April 2022.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation rose 0.52%. The company has received an amendment to its environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest to mine up to a depth of 135 meters from its earlier approved depth of 94 meters at the Tadkeshwar, Lignite Mines.

Strides Pharma Science fell 2.75%. The drug company announced that its step-down wholly-owned subsidiary, Strides Pharma Global Pte., Singapore, received approval for Amantadine Hydrochloride Softgel capsules from the United States Food & Drug Administration. The product is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the Reference Listed Drug (RLD), Symmetrel Capsules of Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc (Endo). According to IQVIA MAT December 2021 data, the US market for Amantadine Hydrochloride Capsules USP,100 mg is approximately $11 million.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News