Sensex tanks 790 pts, Nifty ends below 22,000; broader mkt tumbles

Domestic equity benchmarks tumbled on Wednesday, mirroring negative global cues. With a lack of strong positive or negative catalysts, the market is currently seeking direction. The Nifty50 concluded near the 21,950 level, having reached a peak of 22,229.15 during morning trade. Among sectors, media, PSU banks, and realty shares saw notable declines.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 790.34 points or 1.08% to 72,304.88. The Nifty 50 index lost 247.20 points or 1.11% to 21,951.15.

Adani Enterprises (down 2.53%), Reliance Industries (down 2.07%) and ICICI Bank (down 1.34%) were major drags.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.82% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.94%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. On the BSE, 844 shares rose and 3002 shares fell. A total of 75 shares were unchanged.

Selling in the broader market was triggered after the Indian mutual fund industry body, AMFI, advised fund houses to implement investor protection measures for small-cap and mid-cap investments due to concerns about potential market bubbles. This follows a similar warning from the market regulator (SEBI) about increased investments in these segments. AMFI recommends moderating inflows and portfolio rebalancing as potential strategies to safeguard investors.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.83% to 16.33.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.03% to 7.066 compared with the previous close of 7.068.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.8925, compared with its close of 82.8975 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement declined 0.33% to Rs 62,096.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.31% to 104.14.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 0.46% to 4.295.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement lost 80 cents or 0.96% to $82.85 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European and Asian stocks declined on Wednesday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation data later this week.

China�s manufacturing purchasing managers� index reading and U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index are due Thursday.

New Zealand`s central bank decided to maintain the current interest rate of 5.5%, which is the highest in 15 years. They expressed concern that inflation is still significantly higher than their desired level.

US stocks rose on Tuesday, with investors waiting for economic data that might influence the Federal Reserve`s decision on interest rates. Federal Reserve official Michelle Bowman believes it is too early for rate cuts and expects inflation to keep rising under the current rates.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Healthcare surged 11.20% after the company announced that it has entered into a definitive CDMO agreement with esteemed UK/EU based customers for the supply of 15 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

ONGC fell 1.49%. The company announced that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, ONGC Green, on 27 February 2024, with an authorized capital of Rs 100 crore and subscribed and paid up capital of Rs 1 crore.

Torrent Power slides 3.03%. The company announced that it has made its foray into power transmission segment by bagging a project for the evacuation of power from renewable energy projects in Solapur, Maharashtra.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering slipped 4.69%. The company said that its board has approved the raising of funds through of issuance of convertible warrants by way of preferential issue aggregating upto Rs 150 crore.

SJVN declined 3.52%. The power generation company said that its wholly owned subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy has commissioned 100 megawatt (MW) Raghanesda Solar Power Project located in district Banaskantha, Gujarat.

Balaxi Pharmaceuticals slipped 0.39%. The company said that its board has approved the proposal for sub-division/ split of equity shares of the company in the ratio of 1:5.

Anupam Rasayan India shed 0.44%. The company announced that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary at Delaware in United States of America (USA) named, Anupam USA LLC on 23 February 2024.

Indiabulls Housing Finance dropped 3.79%. The company announced that its board has approved the public issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) up to Rs 100 crore (base issue size) with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs 100 crore, aggregating up to Rs 200 crore.

Tanla Platforms gained 1.03% after the company announced it has extended its exclusive partnership with Truecaller to deliver customized solutions to enterprises.

Salasar Techno Engineering shed 0.08%. The company said that it has entered into an agreement with ZETWERK Businesses for supply of 25,000 MT of solar structures.

New Listing:

Shares of Juniper Hotels hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 397.30 on the BSE, representing a premium of 10.36% as compared with the issue price of Rs 360.

The scrip was listed at Rs 361.20, exhibiting a premium of 0.33% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a low of 361.20. On the BSE, over 19.07 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Exicom Telesystems received 50,59,42,200 bids for shares as against 1,82,23,540 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (28 February 2024). The issue was subscribed 27.76 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (27 February 2024) and it will close on Thursday (29 February 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 135 to 142 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The IPO of Platinum Industries received 21,37,42,644 bids for shares as against 96,32,988 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (28 February 2024). The issue was subscribed 22.19 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (27 February 2024) and it will close on Thursday (29 February 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 162 to 171 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 87 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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