Market slips for 2nd day; Nifty holds 17,300

The benchmark indices ended with small cuts on Thursday, amid mixed global cues. Trading was volatile on account of weekly index expiry on the NSE. The Nifty managed to close above 17,300 level after hitting the day`s low of 17,235.85 in morning trade. Banks shares were under pressure. On the other hand, oil & gas stocks bucked the negative market trend.

The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 104.67 points or 0.18% at 57,892.01. The Nifty 50 index slipped 17.60 points or 0.1% at 17,304.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.22% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.67%. Both the indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,303 shares rose and 2,069 shares fell. A total of 101 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.674% as compared with 6.686% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.1125, compared with its close of 75.045 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement rose 0.9% to Rs 50063.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.16% to 95.85.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement fell $1.93 or 2.04% to $92.88 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 126 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Thursday as investors continued to monitor geopolitical tensions in eastern Europe, while digesting a slew of corporate earnings reports.

In Asia, Japan`s January exports came in far below expectations, with official data released on Thursday showing a 9.6% year-on-year rise for that month.

NATO on Wednesday accused Russia of increasing the number of troops it has gathered at the Ukrainian border, a day after Moscow claimed it had begun withdrawing some of its military units.

According to the media reports, a senior Biden administration official said on Wednesday the United States does not believe Russia`s claim to be withdrawing troops from the Ukraine border and suspects Moscow has increased its presence by as many as 7,000 troops.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Bank index fell 1.11% to 37,531.65. The index has fallen 1.67% in two sessions.

RBL Bank (down 2.3%), ICICI Bank (down 2.15%), Axis Bank (down 1.96%), IDFC FIRST Bank (down 1.54%), PNB (down 1.43%), Federal Bank (down 1.41%), Indusind Bank (down 1.35%), SBI (down 0.99%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.88%), AU Small Finance Bank (down 0.81%), HDFC Bank (down 0.75%) and Bandhan Bank (down 0.33%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Nestle India shed 0.85%. The FMCG major`s net profit fell 20% to Rs 386.66 crore on 8.45% increase in net sales to Rs 3,706.20 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020. The company`s profit before exceptional items and tax rose 10.97% to Rs 743.68 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020. The company reported an exceptional expense of Rs 236.50 crore in Q4 December 2021. Total sales and domestic sales for the quarter increased by 8.4% and 9.2% respectively. Domestic sales growth is broad based and largely driven by volume & mix. Export sales were lower by 6.6% largely due to change in product mix. The board has recommended a final dividend for 2021 of Rs 65 per equity share.

Tata Motors rose 0.36%. Jaguar Land Rover announced formation of a multi-year strategic partnership with NVIDIA to jointly develop and deliver next-generation automated driving systems plus AI-enabled services. Starting in 2025, all new Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles will be built on the NVIDIA DRIVE software-defined platform�delivering a wide spectrum of active safety, automated driving and parking systems as well as driver assistance systems. Inside the vehicle, the system will deliver AI features, including driver and occupant monitoring as well as advanced visualisation of the vehicle`s environment.

Jubilant Ingrevia advanced 1.88%. The company announced the commissioning of its new Diketene derivatives facility at its manufacturing site in North India at Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh.

Wipro rose 0.11%. The IT major has been awarded a five-year, strategic engagement to drive transformation for ABB`s Information Systems digital workplace services. The agreement, worth over $150 million, will help ABB`s Information Systems deliver enhanced, consumer-grade digital experiences for its 105,000 employees in over 100 countries.

Hikal dropped 5.40%. The company received a notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for closure of the firm`s manufacturing unit located at MIDC Taloja, Dist. Raigad. The closure notice has been issued in view of certain alleged non-compliances of the conditional consent to operate and the recent Surat issue. The Taloja unit had contributed approx. Rs 260 crore amounting to around 15% of the turnover of the company for financial year 2020-21. The company is taking appropriate legal measures as advised by counsels before the Pollution Board as well as Courts to remedy the situation and seek reliefs against the closure notice.

Kabra Extrusiontechnik advanced 5.92% after the company`s announced Battrixx will be supplying the advanced range of lithium-ion battery packs with smart batteries designed by BGauss for its range of high-speed e-two-wheelers.

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