Nifty slips below 17,000 mark; NSE VIX spurts 22%

The benchmark indices declined further and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered tad above 16,900 level. The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 22.25% to 22.8375.

The sentiment was impacted by negative global cues and geopolitical worries. Global stocks tumbled after the White House warned of a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Crude oil prices spiked to 7-year highs due to the Ukraine crisis.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 1,557.47 points or 2.68% at 56,595.45. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 471.90 points or 2.72% at 16,902.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index skid 3.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 3.70%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 599 shares rose and 2,896 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India`s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) stood at 12.96% in January 2022 compared with 2.51% in January 2021.

"The high rate of inflation in January, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, food articles etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement today.

WPI grew 13.56% in December 2021, while the figure for November 2021 was 14.87%.

Meanwhile, India`s Industrial output slumped to a 10-month low of 0.4% in December 2021, dragged down by manufacturing, capital goods and consumer durables output along with an unfavourable base, according to data released on Friday by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The IIP had registered a growth of 1.3% a month ago and 2.2% in December 2020.

LIC IPO:

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has filed its draft share sale prospectus with the capital markets regulator SEBI, paving the way for India`s largest initial public offering (IPO). LIC plans to sell 31.62 crore shares, which is about 5% of its total equity base.

The IPO issue is expected to be the country`s largest public issue and will hit the capital market in March 2022. The IPO is 100% offer for sale by Government of India and there will be no fresh issue of shares by LIC.

LIC has 66% market share in New Business Premiums with 283 million policies and 1.35 million agents as of 31st March last year. As of September 2021, its assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 39.6 lakh crore. The embedded value of LIC as of 30 September 2021, stood at Rs 5,39,686 crore.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.681% as compared with 6.698% 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 75.5650, compared with its close of 75.36 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement rose 1.16% to Rs 49,683.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.21% to 96.28.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement fell 20 cents at $94.24 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.26% to 13,340.35. The index lost 2% in two trading sessions.

Strides Pharma Science (down 5.56%), Lupin (down 3.80%), Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (down 2.58%), Abbott India (down 2.33%) and IPCA Laboratories (down 2.32%) were the top losers in the Pharma segment.

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories declined 2.68%. The pharmaceutical major has entered into an exclusive sales and distribution agreement with Novartis India (NIL) for the Voveran range, the calcium range and Methergine in India. Under the arrangement, Dr. Reddy`s will have exclusive rights to promote and distribute the well-established Voveran range, the Calcium range and Methergine in India. The company will use its strengths in promotion and distribution to considerably expand its engagement with healthcare professionals with the aim of enabling access to patients in need.

Sequent Scientific spurted 8.01%. The company`s consolidated net profit dropped 51.1% to Rs 18.56 crore on a 0.8% increase in net sales to Rs 358.05 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) tanked 52.3% to Rs 23.61 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 49.54 crore in Q3 FY21. Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) sales fell 18.8% to Rs 102.60 in Q3 December 2021 as against Rs 126.40 crore in Q3 December 2020. EBITDA (post-ESOP) skid 42.81% to Rs 36.20 crore in Q3 FY22 as against Rs 63.30 crore in Q3 FY21. EBITDA margin stood at 10.1% in Q3 December 2021 from 17.8% in Q3 December 2020. Profit margin stood at 4.8% in Q3 December 2021 from 10% in Q3 December 2020.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals slipped 1.56%. The pharmaceutical major`s consolidated net profit fell 3.4% to Rs 239.75 crore on a 13.9% rise in net sales to Rs 3,141.47 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) slipped 1.4% to Rs 343.04 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 347.97 crore in Q3 FY21. EBITDA was at Rs 693.20 crore for the quarter ended as on 31 December 2021 as against Rs 530.10 crore in the previous corresponding quarter, registering an increase of 30.8% Y-o-Y (year-on-year). On a consolidated basis, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) sales fell 5.27% to Rs 303.20 in Q3 December 2021 as against Rs 320.10 crore in Q3 December 2020.

Ipca Laboratories fell 2.32%. The company`s consolidated net profit fell 25.81% to Rs 196.96 crore on 1.48% increase in net sales to Rs 1430.47 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax (PBT) fell 20.17% to Rs 260.66 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020. Total expenses rose 7.65% year-on-year to Rs 1182.74 crore in Q3 December 2021. Cost of raw material consumed rose 5.98% to Rs 417.04 crore. EBITDA before forex gains declined 18% to Rs 310.83 crore. EBITDA margin stood at 21.53% in Q3 FY22 as against 6.47% in Q3 FY21. The company reported forex gain of Rs 9.91 crore in Q3 December 2021 as against forex gain of Rs 4.99 crore in Q3 December 2020. Revenue from formulations business rose 4% YoY to Rs 992.77 crore. Indian formulations income rose 23% at Rs 645.27 crore. Revenue from APIs business declined 12% to Rs 309.38 crore.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday as investors continued to track tensions in Ukraine and remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve officials about the interest rate outlook.

Multiple countries have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion, with U.S. President Joe Biden`s national security advisor Jake Sullivan warning on Sunday that the Kremlin has accelerated its extraordinary military buildup along the country`s border over the past 10 days.

Western leaders have threatened severe sanctions against Russia in the event of any incursion into Ukraine, as leaders continue to pursue diplomatic solutions. The Kremlin has denied any intention to invade its neighbor, accusing Washington of stoking "hysteria."

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