Sensex tanks 773 pts, Nifty ends below 17,400; IT shares drag

The domestic equity barometers ended with steep cuts after a weak session on Friday. The Nifty closed below the 17,400 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. IT, PSU banks and consumer durables stocks were under pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 773.11 points or 1.31% to 58,152.92. The Nifty 50 index fell 231.10 points or 1.31% to 17,374.75.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.47% to 18.68.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.84% and the BSE Small-Cap index shed 1.90%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 932 shares rose and 2378 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Weak global cues spoiled investor sentiment as the higher-than-expected US inflation data raised fears of aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

Yield on the 10-year US Treasury note ended above 2% for the first time since August 2019 after US inflation came in higher than expected. US consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 7.5% in January, which was the highest print since February 1982.

Further, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said that the data had made him "dramatically" more hawkish and that he now wanted a full percentage point of interest rate hikes by Jul 1.

Investors are fully pricing in a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the Fed at its Mar 15-16 policy meeting, and forecasting a significant chance of a 50 basis points hike.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.701% as compared with 6.725% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.36, compared with its close of 75.15 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement fell 0.32% to Rs 48,800.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.32% to 95.86.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement rose 34 cents at $91.75 a barrel. The contract fell 14 cents, or 0.15% to settle at $91.41 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 128 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.

Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street following hotter than expected consumer prices data.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index fell 2.72% to 34,379.05. The index gained 2.38% in the past two sessions.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 4.99%), Coforge (down 4.22%), L&T Technology Services (down 4.21%), Mindtree (down 3.91%), Mphasis (down 3.63%), Tech Mahindra (down 3.05%), Infosys (down 2.82%), HCL Technologies (down 2.39%), Wipro (down 2.16%) and TCS (down 2.05%) slumped.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Oil India fell 0.98%. The company`s standalone net profit jumped 37.75% to Rs 1,244.90 crore on a 76.05% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 3,736.70 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Pre-tax gains stood at Rs 1,593.20 crore in Q3 FY22 as against pre-tax loss of Rs 384.20 crore in Q3 FY21.

Motherson Sumi Systems slumped 4.82%. The company reported 69% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 245.08 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 798.38 crore in Q3 FY21. Total revenue from operations declined 6% YoY to Rs 16,117.51 crore during the quarter.

Divi`s Laboratories shed 0.57%. The company`s consolidated net profit rose 91.71% to Rs 902.24 crore on 46.54% increase in net sales to Rs 2493.24 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Profit before tax rose 60.99% to Rs 1033.66 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Sun TV Network slipped 0.58%. The media company`s standalone net profit rose 3.52% to Rs 457.39 crore on 6.25% rise in net sales to Rs 1033.10 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Trent lost 0.44%. The company reported a 77.7% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 113.78 crore on a 75.6% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,499 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Hero MotoCorp fell 0.53%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 704.24 crore in Q3FY22 as compared to Rs 1029.17 crore in Q3FY21. Total income rose to Rs 8,133.30 crore from Rs 10,032.61 crore YoY.

Tata Chemicals tumbled 4.68%. The company`s consolidated net profit surged 74.04% to Rs 349.35 crore on a 20.54% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 3,141.58 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Zomato slumped 6.08%. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 67.20 crore in Q3FY22 as compared to net loss of Rs 352.60 crore in Q3FY21. Total income rose to Rs 1259.70 crore from Rs 637.30 crore YoY. Gross Order Value ("GOV") grew by 84.5% YoY and 1.7% QoQ to Rs 5,500 crore ($733 million) in Q3 FY22. Number of orders grew 93% YoY and 5% QoQ.

Speciality Restaurants jumped 7.41% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 11.20 crore in Q3 December 2021 as against net loss of Rs 3.69 crore in Q3 December 2020. Net sales rose 56.64% to Rs 88.99 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure surged 19.78% after the company`s net profit rose 57.11% to Rs 52.38 crore on 27.13% rise in net sales to Rs 600.46 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

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