Market slips into red; Nifty below 17,500

The benchmark indices reversed trend and slipped into the negative terrain in early afternoon trade. Auto and financial service scrips dragged. The Nifty fell below 17,500 mark.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex shed 148.27 points or 0.25% at 58,428.10. The Nifty 50 index slipped 34.15 points or 0.19% at 17,496.15.

The broader market bucked the trend. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.02%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.41%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,901 shares rose and 1,365 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.19% to 17.94. The Nifty 28 April 2022 futures were trading at 17,496.85, at a premium of 0.70 point as compared with the spot at 17,496.15.

The Nifty option chain for 28 April 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 28.3 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 36.6 lakh contracts was seen at 17,500 strike price.

Economy:

India`s merchandise trade deficit in March touched $18.51 billion, data released by the government showed on Wednesday. India`s merchandise exports rose nearly 20% to $42.22 billion, while imports rose 24% to $60.74 billion.

The country`s factory output (IIP) rose 1.7% in February 2022 compared to a revised estimate of 1.5% in January this year, the data published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday showed. As per the government data, the growth in the mining sector was at 4.5% in February 2022 as against a contraction of 4.4% in February 2021. The manufacturing sector expanded by 0.8% in February as compared to a contraction of 3.4% in the year-ago month.

Meanwhile, India`s retail inflation jumped to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March from 6.07% in February, according to data released on 12 April 2022 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The sharp increase in Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in March was driven by an increase in prices across all but one of the major groups of the basket, with only the index of the housing component of the CPI declining on a month-on-month basis. This suggests the strengthening of price pressures.

Gainers & Losers:

Grasim Industries (up 3.96%), JSW Steel (up 3.43%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 2.69%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) (up 2.50%) and ITC (up 1.93%) were major Nifty gainers.

Cipla (down 2.33%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.19%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.14%), NTPC (down 1.04%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.65%) were major Nifty losers.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index fell 0.67% to 17,454.35. The index rose 0.02% in the past trading session.

Among the components of the Nifty Financial Services index, Power Finance Corporation (down 0.04%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.08%), Axis Bank (down 0.22%), HDFC Asset Management Company (down 0.24%) and SBI Life Insurance Company (down 0.36%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers, were SBI Cards & Payment Services (down 0.52%), Muthoot Finance (down 0.55%), Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (down 0.97%), Bajaj Finserv (down 1.05%) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (down 1.49%).

On the other hand, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (up 1.1%), Piramal Enterprises (up 1.03%) and Bajaj Finance (up 0.87%) advanced.

ICICI Bank fell 0.12%. The private sector lender`s board will consider fund raising on 23 April 2022. The bank plans to raise funds through issue of debt securities, including non-convertible debentures/ bonds/ notes/ offshore certificate of deposits, in single/ multiple tranches in any currency through public/private placement. The board will also consider Q4 results on 23 April 2022.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TVS Motor Company rose 0.07%. TVS Motor Company`s subsidiary, Swiss E-Mobility Group (Holding) AG (SEMG), on 12 April 2022, acquired 100% stake in Alexand`Ro Edouard`O Passion V�lo S�rl (Passion V�lo) for a cash consideration of CHF 2.79 million. Consequent to the same, Passion V�lo has become a subsidiary of the company. This acquisition would help SEMG to geographically expand its network in the western part of Swiss region and strengthen its retail presence.

Zydus Lifesciences gained 0.40%. The company announced that it will be manufacturing and supplying Sagent`s Caffeine Citrate Oral Solution in the strength of 60 mg per 3 mL single-dose vial from its injectables facility at Jarod, Gujarat. Zydus Lifesciences, formerly known as Cadila Healthcare, announced that it received the Prior Approval Supplement (PAS) approval from the US-based drug regulatory body, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), which allows for a site transfer and manufacturing of the drug at Jarod.

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