Sensex down 507 pts; Nifty holds 17,000 level

The benchmark indices were trading with modest losses in afternoon trade. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in red. The Nifty held above the psychological 17,000 level.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex dropped 507.46 points or 0.88% at 56,849.15. The Nifty 50 index skid 159.50 points or 0.93% at 17,041.30.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.95%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.98%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 959 shares rose while 2,362 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

Meanwhile index heavyweight, Reliance Industries (RIL) (up 0.32%) hit fresh record high of Rs 2,827.10 in intraday today. The company hit a market capitalization of Rs 19 lakh crore.

RIL and Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC (TA`ZIZ) have signed the formal shareholder agreement for the TA`ZIZ Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) project. RIL is a strategic partner with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, in TA`ZIZ EDC & PVC, a world-scale chemicals development at the TA`ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais. The TA`ZIZ EDC & PVC joint venture will construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, EDC and PVC production facility, with a total investment of over $2 billion (AED 7.34 billion).

LIC IPO Update:

The initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will open on 4 May 2022 and will close on 9 May 2022. The price band has been set at Rs 902 to Rs 949, with a discount of Rs 60 for LIC policyholders. For retail investors and eligible employees, the discount will be of Rs 45 a share.

COVID-19 Update:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while interacting with the chief ministers of several states on Wednesday, warned that the �Covid challenge� has not yet been surpassed. �Despite managing the Covid crisis well as compared to other countries, we can see an uptick in cases in states now. We have to stay alert,� Modi said. The review meeting was attended by several chief ministers including West Bengal`s Mamata Banerjee, Chhattisgarh`s Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab`s Bhagwant Mann.

India reported 2,927 new coronavirus cases, up from the previous day`s 2,483 as of 8 A.M. on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry. The active cases in India climbed to 16,279 from 15,636. The country also reported 32 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted emergency use authorisation to Bharat Biotech`s Covaxin for the age group 6-12 years and Corbevax for the age group 5-12 years. Zydus Cadila`s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, meanwhile, has been approved for the 12 years and above population.

Gainers & Losers:

Hero MotoCorp (up 2.46%), Asian Paints (up 0.78%), RIL (up 0.32%) and Nestle India (up 0.01%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Bajaj Finance (down 6.26%), Bajaj Finserv (down 4.34%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.95%), Axis Bank (down 2.77%) and SBI Life Insurance Company (down 2.63%) were the top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

KPIT Technologies surged 9.87%. The company`s consolidated net profit rose 12.66% to Rs 78.87 crore on 4.72% increase in revenues to Rs 651.76 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q3 December 2021. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax (PBT) rose 11.05% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 97.21 crore in Q4 FY22. EBITDA rose 5.58% to Rs 121.39 crore during the period under review.

EBITDA margin stood at 18.6% in Q4 FY22 as against 18.5% in Q3 FY22 and 17.2% in Q4 FY21. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the software development company`s net profit rose 50.37% and net sales rose 20.62% in Q4 FY22. During the quarter, Constant Currency (CC) revenue growth was 21% Y-o-Y and 5.2% Q-o-Q. In Dollar terms, revenue growth was 17% Y-o-Y and 4.1% Q-o-Q. Total contract value (TCV) of total deals won during the quarter was $125 million.

VST Industries rose 0.33%. The company reported a 19.7% increase in net profit to Rs 87.19 crore on an 8.7% rise in net sales to Rs 302.07 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The company said it managed to withstand the inflationary pressure in the Q4 and ended the financial year 2022 with growth in the overall turnover as well profit. Profit before tax surged 18.9% to Rs 114.98 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 96.73 crore posted in Q4 FY21.

VST further added, �While the macroeconomic environment has been challenging where inflation has gone up considerably, better operational efficiencies helped company achieve an EBIT margin of 25% in the FY22.� On a full year basis, the tobacco maker reported a 3% increase in net profit to Rs 320.23 crore on a 6% rise in net sales to Rs 1,176.62 crore in FY22 over FY21.

Global Markets:

European stocks traded mixed, near the flatline on Wednesday as global markets remain flat, with fears persisting over the global growth outlook. Heightened tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war persisted. On Monday, Russia said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressing the risks should not be underestimated. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded by calling the nuclear war rhetoric �very dangerous and unhelpful.�

Asian markets also closed mixed after overnight losses saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sliding to a fresh low for 2022. China`s industrial profits rose 8.5% year-on-year in the January-March period, official data showed.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday with shares selling off into the close, as investors dumped equities on fears of an economic slowdown.

Worries about the global economy loomed. Investors are worried about a Covid surge in China. Regarding the war in Ukraine, a top Russian official said the threat of nuclear war is real. Plus, high inflation in the U.S. is denting demand for goods from houses to sneakers.

Crypto Market:

Among the popular crypto currencies, Tether (USDT) (up 0.98%) edged higher.

However, Doge Coin (Doge) (down 9.82%), Bitcoin (BTC) (down 3.74%), Ethereum (ETH) (down 3.49%) and Binance Coin (BNB) (down 1.77%) declined.

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