Nifty drops below 17,000; breadth weak

The key equity benchmarks edged lower in early trade amid a sharp sell-off in index pivotals. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were currently in the red. The Nifty traded below the 17,000 mark.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex was down 370.27 points or 0.65% to 56,690.60. The Nifty 50 index lost 116.90 points or 0.68% at 16,985.65.

Sun Pharma (down 2.63%), Titan Company (down 2.50%), Asian Paints (down 2.45%), JSW Steel (down 2.16%) and Hindalco (down 2.13%) were the top index losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.52% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.64%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 920 shares rose while 1,791 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The monthly collection under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has peaked to an all-time high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April 2022, according to a statement by the Finance Ministry on 1 May 2022. GST collection in April was Rs 25,000 crore more than the collection in March.

India`s eight core sectors grew by 4.3% in March, down from 6% in February, the commerce ministry said on 29 April 2022.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro shed 0.49% to Rs 506.50. The IT major reported 4% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,087.3 crore on a 3% increase in revenue to Rs 20,860 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. As compared with Q4 FY21, the company`s net profit and revenue are higher by 4% and 28%, respectively.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) lost 0.32% to Rs 2221. HDFC announced an increase in its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) on housing loans, on which its adjustable rate home loans (ARHL) are benchmarked, by 5 basis points, with effect from 1 May 2022.

IndusInd Bank jumped 4.24% to Rs 1019.65. The private sector bank`s standalone net profit surged 55.4% to Rs 1,361.37 crore on an 6.1% increase in total income to Rs 9,761.89 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.32% to Rs 7630.35. The company announced total sales of 150,661 units in April 2022. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 126,261 units, sales to other OEM of 5,987 units and exports of 18,413 units. Total sales stood at 159,691 units in April 2021.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Monday. Markets in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan are closed on Monday for a holiday.

Data released over the weekend showed that Chinese factory activity contracted in April.

China`s factory activity contracted at a steeper pace in April as Covid lockdowns hit industrial production. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers` Index for April declined to 47.4, a second straight month of contraction following March`s reading of 49.5, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Saturday.

A private survey also showed a contraction in Chinese factory activity, with the Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI coming in at 46, declining from the previous month`s reading of 48.1.

Wall Street slid on Friday to its deepest daily losses since 2020, as Amazon slumped following a gloomy quarterly report, and as the biggest surge in monthly inflation since 2005 spooked investors already worried about rising interest rates.

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