Sensex drops 316 pts, Nifty ends below 19,550 on weak global signals

Domestic equity benchmarks closed lower on Tuesday due to weak global cues, resulting in widespread selling. The day began on a cautious note at 19,622, following the lead of mixed Asian markets. Although there was an attempt at recovery during the day, the higher levels were short-lived, and the Nifty 50 ended the day below 19,550. Among the sectors, PSU banks and media performed well, while energy and auto shares lagged. The mid and smallcap indices outperformed the frontline index, with corrective moves mainly observed in heavyweight stocks. Investors chose to reduce their equity exposure ahead of the monetary policy committee meeting from October 4th-6th this week. Despite robust September GST collections, investors remained unenthused as global concerns continued to influence the local market trend.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 316.31 points or 0.48% to 65,512.10. The Nifty 50 index lost 109.55 points or 0.56% to 19,528.75.

ICICI Bank (down 1.23%), HDFC Bank (down 1.22%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.20%) were major drags.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.09% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.61%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,872 shares rose and 1,905 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 3.16% to 11.82.

Economy:

The World Bank has maintained its growth forecast for India in the fiscal year 2023-24 at 6.3%. The World Bank also projected that India`s service sector activity will remain strong with growth at 7.4%, and added that investment growth will remain robust at 8.9% in the current fiscal year.

Separately, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) registered 57.5 in September, down from 58.6 in August. Although the lowest for five months, the latest reading remained firmly above the no-change mark of 50.0 and its long-run average (53.9), therefore signaling a sharp rate of expansion.

Meanwhile, India`s GST revenue in September was 1.62 lakh crore, with CGST at 29,818 crore, SGST at 37,657 crore, IGST at 83,623 crore, and cess at 11,613 crore. The total revenue for Centre and States in September after regular settlement was 63,555 crore for CGST and 65,235 crore for SGST. The revenue for September was 10$ higher than the same month last year, with domestic transactions being 14% higher. This is the fourth time that the gross GST collection has crossed 1.60 lakh crore in 2023-24.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.31% to 7.232 from its previous close of 7.210.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.2000, compared with its close of 83.0650 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2023 settlement declined 1.41% to Rs 56,301.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.17% to 107.09.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.49% to 4.710.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2023 settlement lost 63 cents or 0.69% to $90.08 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe declined while Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday. Investors were cautious after top Federal Reserve officials expressed their willingness to raise interest rates if economic data suggests a slow approach towards the 2% inflation target. While inflation remains elevated, these officials stressed the need for a restrictive monetary policy over an extended period to achieve their objectives.

Japan`s yen slid to near a one-year low, putting traders on watch for intervention from Japanese authorities. Chinese markets were closed for the week because of the Golden Week Holiday.

The World Bank forecasts growth in the developing East Asia and Pacific region to remain strong at 5% in 2023. However, its expects growth to ease in the second half of 2023 and fall to 4.5% in 2024, according to its regional update published on Sunday.

New Listing:

Shares of Manoj Vaibhav Gems N Jewellers settled at Rs 215.65 on the BSE, representing a premium of 0.30% as compared with the issue price of Rs 215. The scrip was listed was listed at Rs 215, matching the initial public offer (IPO) price.

The stock has hit a high of 221.90 and a low of 210. On the BSE, over 4.06 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

The IPO of Manoj Vaibhav Gems N Jewellers was subscribed 2.25 times. The issue opened for bidding on 22 September 2023 and it closed on 26 September 2023. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 204-215 per share.

Shares of JSW Infrastructure settled at Rs 157.30 on the BSE, representing a premium of 32.18% as compared with the issue price of Rs 119. The scrip was listed at Rs 143, exhibiting a premium of 20.17% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of 157.30 and a low of 141.75. On the BSE, over 57.99 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

The initial public offer (IPO) of JSW Infrastructure was subscribed 37.37 times. The issue opened for bidding on 25 September 2023 and it closed on 27 September 2023. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 113-119 per share.

Stocks In Spotlight:

Piccadily Agro Industries hit an upper limit of 20% at Rs 137.90 after the company`s `Indri` whiskey received the best whiskey in the world award at the 2023 Whiskies of the World Awards.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) added 0.86%. The company has recorded a 26% year-on-year jump in cargo volumes in September 2023, reaching 32.8 million metric tons (MMT). This growth was observed across all key ports, with double-digit growth in dry bulk (+32%), containers (+20%) and liquids & gas (+21%) cargo types.

Vedanta advanced 3.73%. The company on Friday announced the creation of independent verticals through demerger of various companies, mainly its metals, power, aluminium, and oil and gas businesses to unlock value. The demerger will result in the formation of six separate companies, and each will be listed.

Coal India (CIL) shed 1.14%. CIL produced about 333 million tonnes (MTs) of coal ending first half of the current financial year posting a strong 11.3% year-on-year growth. Output for the month of September 2023 was 51.4 MTs, a 5.8 MTs jump or a growth of 12.6%.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) declined 1.08%. The auto major announced that its overall auto sales for the month of September 2023 stood at 75,604 vehicles, registering the growth of 17.24% as against 64,486 vehicles sold in September 2022.

Hero MotoCorp fell 1.37%. The two-wheeler major`s total sales increased by 3.17% to 536,499 units in September 2023 from 519,980 units in September 2022. Meanwhile, the automobile maker also announced that it will increase the ex-showroom prices of its select motorcycles and scooters, effective from 3 October 2023.

Tata Motors declined 1.59%. The auto major announced that its domestic sales for September 2023 stood at 82,023 vehicles, registering growth of 2% as compared to 80,633 units sold in September 2022. Tata Motors sales in the domestic & international market decline marginally to 2,43,024 vehicles in Q2 FY24 as compared with 2,43,387 units during Q2 FY23.

Bajaj Auto shed 1.12%. The auto major`s total auto sales fell marginally to 3,92,558 units in September 2023 as against 3,94,747 units sold in September 2022.

TVS Motor Company added 0.46%. The auto maker said that its total sales jumped 6% in September 2023, with sales of 402,553 units as compared with 379,011 units sold in the month of September 2022.

UltraTech Cement rose 0.54%. The cement major said that it has reported 16% increase in consolidated cement sales volume to 26.69 million tons (MT) in Q2 FY24 as against 23.10 MT in Q2 FY23.

Escorts Kubota slipped 1.94% after the company`s Agri machinery business division in September 2023 sold 10,861 tractors as against 12,232 tractors sold in September 2022, recording 11.2% de-growth.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News