Sensex, Nifty drift lower in early trade

Equity indices dropped in early trade on negative global stocks. The Nifty slipped below 17,900 mark.

At 9:22 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 267.3 points or 0.44% at 59,909.2. The Nifty 50 index shed 69.3 points or 0.39% at 17,888.1.

The broader market traded with gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.2% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.43%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, shares 1687 rose and 849 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 374.89 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 105.42 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 April, provisional data showed.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will unveil the first monetary policy of the new financial year on Friday, 8 April 2022, after a two-day review amid concern over inflation that is quickening on the back of higher crude oil and other commodity prices.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Enterprises rose 0.42%. A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 8 April 2022, to consider and approve the proposal for raising of funds by way of rights issue, preferential allotment, including a qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode and/or combination thereof.

TVS Motor Company gained 0.82%. The two wheeler maker and Jio-bp announced that they have agreed to explore the creation of a robust public EV charging infrastructure for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the country, building on Jio-bp`s growing network in this space.

Coatal Corporation added 1.84% to Rs 406 after the company announced that unit III at Kakinada SEZ is now fully ready to commission. The new facility has production capacity of 35 MTPD.

Global Markets:

Asian markets were trading lower on Wednesday, mirroring losses seen among their peers on Wall Street following an overnight surge in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield.

Chinese services sector activity saw a sharp contraction in March, a private survey showed Wednesday. The Caixin services Purchasing Managers` Index declined to 42.0 in March, well below February`s reading of 50.2 as well as the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Wednesday`s reading was also the lowest since February 2020.

Wall Street`s main indices fell on Tuesday, dragged by weakness in tech and other growth stocks, after comments from Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard spooked investors about potential aggressive actions by the central bank to control inflation.

After opening the day slightly positive, stocks fell and rates hit their highs after Brainard, who is typically considered one of the more dovish Fed members, said the central bank needs to shrink its balance sheet �rapidly� to drive down inflation. �Inflation is much too high and is subject to upside risks,� she said, noting the Fed needed a steady pace of rate hikes as well.

Investors will continue to monitor moves in U.S. Treasurys. The 10-year Treasury rose to its highest level since May 2019 on Tuesday, hitting a high of 2.562% before settling at 2.55%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note last sat at 2.6011%, well above the 2-year Treasury note`s yield of 2.5751%.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped overnight after comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard suggested an aggressive approach to shrinking the central bank`s balance sheet.

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