Sensex drops 377 pts, Nifty ends at 20,906.40; RIL drags

The domestic equity benchmarks experienced minor declines today after reaching record highs. The recent market activity has shown signs of fatigue among investors, with foreign investors displaying limited participation. Market focus now shifts to November retail inflation data from India and the US, as well as the US Federal Reserve`s interest rate stance. Demand for media, metal, and PSU bank stocks increased, whereas realty, oil & gas, and consumer durables stocks saw a decline.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 377.50 points or 0.54% to 69,551.03. The Nifty 50 index lost 90.70 points or 0.43% to 20,906.40. The Nifty hit an all-time high of 21,037.90 in early trade today.

Reliance Industries (down 1.43%), Larsen & Toubro (down 1.22%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.98%) were major drags.

Nifty 50 index`s current position just below 21,000 suggests potential for sideways movement. A decisive move above 21,000 could signal a resumption of the uptrend, while support is expected at 20,800.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.40% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.27%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,691 shares rose and 2,104 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.07% to 7.276 as compared with previous close 7.281.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.3750, compared with its close of 83.3775 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement rose 0.33% to Rs 61,320.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.33% to 103.75.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 1.28% to 4.185.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2024 settlement lost 32 cents or 0.42% to $75.71 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday. Japanese stocks lead the gains for a second straight session ahead of the final U.S. Federal Reserve meeting of the year.

US stocks registered modest gains on Monday but managed to close at new highs for the year, ahead of major market catalysts this week that include inflation readings and the Federal Reserve`s policy announcement.

The Fed�s two-day meeting kicks off Tuesday, and the U.S. central bank is expected to maintain the Federal Funds rate steady in the 5.25%-5.5% range. Market players will also assess the U.S. November inflation figures out late Tuesday. Later in the week, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE), are also due to make policy announcements.

Stocks in Spotlight:

PI Industries dropped 10% after the media reported that China`s prominent crop protection company Rainbow Agro is entering the pyroxasulfone market with a substantial 2,000-tonne project approval.

PI Industries manufactures the herbicide Pyroxasulfone under the AWKIRA brand with major revenue contribution.

Infosys declined 0.85%. The company`s board has appointed Jayesh Sanghrajka as the chief financial officer and key managerial personnel with effect from 1 April 2024. Nilanjan Roy, chief financial officer and key managerial personnel has resigned from the services of the company.

Hindalco Industries rose 1% after the company announced that it will set up a new battery foil manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 800 crore in Odisha.

Mahindra & Mahindra fell 1.08%. The company`s total production increased 13.4% to 69,875 units in the month of November 2023 as against 61,618 units as compared with November 2022.

SpiceJet fell 4.18%. The low-cost air carrier�s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 448.99 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with a net loss of Rs 833.32 crore in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations slipped 29% year on year to Rs 1,347.52 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet announced that its board has approved the raising of fresh capital of over Rs 2,250 crore through the issuance of equity shares under private placement basis, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals as may be required.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank jumped 7.15% after the lender launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise Rs 750 crore. The lender has set the floor price for the issue at Rs 112.66 per share, reflecting a discount of 10.02% from the bank`s previous closing price of Rs 125.20 on the NSE.

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy rose 1.49% after the company said that its board approved the opening of qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares with the floor price of Rs 365.02 per share.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) rose 0.10%. The company has secured a multi-year engineering services partnership with bp, a leading global energy company. The partnership will span areas such as engineering for projects, turnarounds, maintenance improvements, technical writing, engineering data management, and services for sustainability initiatives.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) lost 0.14% after the company said that its joint venture (JV) with URC has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for contract awarded by Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation worth Rs 543 crore.

DLF declined 0.77%. The realtor informed that its board has approved the resignation of Vivek Anand from his position as Group chief financial officer (CFO) effective from 29 February 2024.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals fell 1.48%. The pharma company said that the US FDA has issued a Form 483 with 5 procedural observations after conducting pre-approval inspection (PAI) at the company�s manufacturing facility based in Gujarat.

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