Market succumbs to fag-end selling; Nifty holds 17,100

Domestic equity benchmarks went into a tailspin during fag-end of the trade on Friday, dragged by weakness in Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and Infosys. The Nifty ended a tad above 17100 after hitting the day`s high of 17,377.65 in afternoon trade. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. Media, oil & gas and auto shares tumbled. Concerns over rising inflation and foreign fund outflows in the wake of the uncertain geopolitical situation dampened the sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex lost 460.19 points or 0.8% at 57,060.87. The Nifty 50 index fell 142.5 points or 0.83% to 17,102.55.

Axis Bank (down 6.57%), Reliance Industries (down 1.01%) and Infosys (down 0.97%) dragged.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.81% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.58%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1,266 shares rose while 2,113 shares fell. A total of 129 shares were unchanged.

Fear gauge NSE VIX gained marginally and ended at 19.42.

COVID-19 Update:

The active cases comprised 0.04% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74%, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

India logged 3,377 new COVID-19 cases taking the country`s total tally of cases to 4,30,72,176, while the active cases rose to 17,801, as per the data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 5,23,753 with 60 fresh fatalities.

Numbers to watch:

The yield on the 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 7.140% from its previous close of 7.155%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 76.4350, compared with its close of 76.61 during the previous trading sessio

MCX Gold futures for 3 June 2022 settlement rose 0.92% to Rs 51,733.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, declined 0.59% to 103.01.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2022 settlement advanced $1.36 or 1.27% at $108.62 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Futures were down 149 points, indicating a negative start in the U.S. market today.

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Friday as global stocks received a boost from strong corporate earnings, but remain on course for a negative month.

The French economy stagnated in the first quarter of the year as weak domestic demand continued despite an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, global investors continue to monitor the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West of a "lightning fast" response to countries that intervene in the war. Russia shocked the European community by halting gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday because they had refused to pay for the gas in Russian rubles, as Moscow demanded.

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Thursday after a strong quarterly report from Meta Platforms lifted beaten down technology and growth stocks and offset worries about the US economy`s contraction in the first quarter. The Facebook parent surged 17.6% after the social network reported a larger-than-expected profit and rebounded from a drop in users.

US economic growth fell 1.4% annualised in the first quarter of 2022, government data said Thursday. The data was far worse than the mild increase analysts had expected, and came after the economy had grown 6.9% in the final quarter of 2021.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Axis Bank declined 6.57%. The bank`s net profit rose 54% to Rs 4,117.77 crore on 16% increase in total income to Rs 21,999.58 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. Net interest income (NII) increased by 17% to Rs 8,819 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 7,555 crore posted in Q4 FY21. Net interest margin (NIM) for Q4 FY22 stood at 3.49%. Credit cost for the quarter ended 31 March, 2022 stood at 0.32%, declining by 116 bps YoY and 12 bps QoQ. Operating profit rose by 13% YoY to Rs 6,466 crore during the quarter.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.97%. The car major reported 57.7% jump in net profit to Rs 1,838.9 crore on a 11.1% rise in net sales to Rs 25,514 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

Varroc Engineering (VEL) surged 7.93% after the company said it will divest its 4-wheeler lighting system operations in the Americas and Europe for 600 million euros.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CPCL) hit an upper circuit limit of 10% at Rs 279.20 after well-known investor Dolly Khanna on Thursday bought 10 lakh shares, or 0.67% equity, of the company via bulk deal on the NSE. The shares were purchased at Rs 263.15 per share. It values the deal at Rs 26.31 crore.

Genus Power Infrastructures rose 2.33% after the company said it bagged an order worth Rs 828.57 crore from state utility for 10 lakhs smart prepaid meters.

Shriram Transport Finance Company jumped 4.88% after the company`s standalone net profit rose 43.87% to Rs 1,086.13 crore on 13.11% increase in total income to Rs 5,087.59 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. Net interest income for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2022 increased by 22.16% to Rs 2,627.82 crore as against Rs 2,151.12 crore in the same period of the previous year. Total assets under management as on 31 March 2022 was Rs 127,040.86 crore compared with Rs 117,242.83 crore as on 31 March 2021.

UltraTech Cement rose 0.25%. On a consolidated basis, the cement major`s normalised net profit declined 18.52% to Rs 1,478 on 9.31% increase in net sales to Rs 15,557 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. Profit before interest, depreciation and tax fell 15.62% to Rs 3,165 crore in Q4 March 2022 as against Rs 3,751 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Camlin Fine Sciences dropped 10.32% after the company said that the Russia-Ukraine crisis may impact its consolidated Q4 results. The firm said that the Russia-Ukraine crisis has had an adverse impact on all costs especially raw materials, logistics and power and fuel. It expects to have an impact on the consolidated results for the quarter and financial year ended 31 March 2022.

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