Sensex slips 124 pts, European mkt opens lower

The headline equity indices traded with modest losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 18,350 mark after hitting day`s high at 18,392.60 in mid-morning trade. Consumer durables, pharma and healthcare stocks were in demand while metal, financial services and PSU bank shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 124.21 points or 0.20% to 61,857.58. The Nifty 50 index lost 40.05 points or 0.22% to 18,307.95.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.24% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.12%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,647 shares rose and 1,725 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.05%), Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories (up 1.22%), Titan Company (up 1.18%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.94%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.89%) were major Nifty gainers.

Adani Enterprises (down 5.38%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 2.19%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.45%), Tata Motors (down 1.39%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.25%) were top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ashok Leyland declined 1.68%. The Hinduja Group company`s standalone net profit declined 16.6% to Rs 751.41 crore in Q4 FY23 from Rs 901.37 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations jumped 32.95% year on year to Rs 11,625.67 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Biocon advanced 2.35% after the company reported 31% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 313 crore on a 57% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,774 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Q4 FY22.

JSW Energy added 0.56%. The company reported 68.5% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 272.05 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Rs 864.35 crore in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations rose 9.4% to Rs 2,669.97 crore in Q4 FY23 as against Rs 2,440.68 crore in corresponding quarter last year, due to higher generation and increase in renewable capacity.

Bikaji Foods International rose 0.30%. The company reported 51.6% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 37.71 crore in Q4 FY23 from Rs 24.87 crore in Q4 FY22. Net sales improved by 15.6% YoY to Rs 461.69 crore during the quarter.

NMDC shed 0.38%. The company reported 22% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,277 crore on despite an 18% fall in total income to Rs 5,839 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Q4 FY22.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia declined across the board on Wednesday as negotiations over raising the US debt ceiling remained at an impasse, sapping risk sentiment.

U.K. inflation figures showed a sharp fall in the headline rate from 10.1% to 8.7%, Prices rose 1.2% month on month. Inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages eased very slightly, but remained high at 19.1%.

New Zealand`s central bank increased interest rates by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, maintaining its hawkish position. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the official cash rate to 5.5%, the highest since October 2008. It also warned that an economic contraction this year was possible.

US stock market ended lower Tuesday amid growing worries over raising the debt limit after another round of talks between White House officials and Congressional Republicans ended without a conclusion.

US debt negotiations continued but progress appeared limited, with some House Republicans questioning the urgency of a deadline imposed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for when the government will start missing debt payments.

Investors will keep an eye on the minutes of the meeting of Federal`s Reserve on May 2-3 that are due to be released on Wednesday. Minutes will offer traders the latest insights into whether interest rates will be paused at the Fed`s June gathering.

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