Global cues drag Sensex down by 269 points; Nifty holds 14,800
Sensex slipped 269 points or 0.55% at 48,892 while the broader market index Nifty 50 was at 14,803 down by 47 points or 0.32%.
Benchmark Indian equity indices continued their downfall tracking fall in Asian peer for the second straight session on Wednesday to one-month lows as investors speculated that surging commodity prices and growing inflationary pressure in the United States could lead to earlier rate hikes and higher bond yields globally. In opening trade Sensex slipped 269 points or 0.55% at 48,892 while the broader market index Nifty 50 was at 14,803 down by 47 points or 0.32%.
NTPC, PowerGrid, ONGC, SBI and L&T were the top gainer on the Sensex rallying over 3.50%. On the downside, M&M lost the most fell by 1.67%, HDFC, HUL, Tech Mahindra and Nestle India lost around 1.25%.
“Globally the markets are now caught between two opposing forces – economic recovery and inflation fears. While the former is positive the latter is negative. Going forward, the market trend will depend on which of the two triumphs over the other. Today’s inflation data from the US is important. The YoY inflation in the US is expected to come around 3.6%, pushed high mainly by the base effect and therefore may not sustain. But if the MoM inflation data shows a surge, the dovish Fed will be forced to take it seriously. The fact that the market is a bit apprehensive of rising inflation is reflected in the US 10-year yield rising above 1.6%. So this space has to be watched. Meanwhile in India Q4 results continue to be good with better than expected performance from mid-small-caps. Market action is likely to be stock specific based on results,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Barring Nifty Realty & Nifty Metal indices, all major indices are in the red. Nifty Bank was down by 0.79% while Nifty IT index 0.52%. Nifty Auto & Nifty Pharma slipped 0.19% each.
However, the market breadth remained positive as 1,087 shares advanced and 675 stocks declined and 488 scrips remained unchanged. In the broader market, BSE MidCap lost 0.14% and BSE SmallCap was up 0.21%.
On the macro data front, investors are awaiting the industrial production and manufacturing production data for March, and inflation for April, scheduled to be released later in the day.
Earnings today:
Asian Paints, Lupin, UPL, Apollo Tyres, Tata Power, Avadh Sugar & Energy, Birla Corporation, Borosil Renewables, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries, GRM Overseas, Happiest Minds Technologies, HG Infra Engineering, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Ispat Special Products, Kaycee Industries, Kennametal India, Khaitan Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Orient Electric, Pidilite Industries, Prince Pipes and Fittings, PTL Enterprises, Sagar Cements, Saregama India, UPL, Vaibhav Global, Vardhman Concrete, Voltas amongst others will declare their quarterly earnings today.
Stocks in spotlight:
Infosys: The company announced that it has been selected by Britvic, one of the leading branded soft drinks businesses in Europe, as a strategic end-to-end partner to help them deliver their strategic transformation roadmap and operations, across Applications, Cloud Infrastructure, Service Management and End User Computing.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: Dr Reddy’s along with its subsidiaries announced the launch of Ertapenem for Injection, 1 g/vial, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of INVANZ (ertapenem for injection) for injection, 1 g/vial approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
Godrej Consumer Products: On a consolidated basis, the company reported a 59.13% jump in net profit to Rs 365.84 crore on a 24.71% rise in total income to Rs 2,747.35 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.
Siemens: On a consolidated basis, Siemens reported a 90.32% jump in net profit to Rs 334.40 crore on a 30.15% rise in total income to Rs 3,552.50 crore in Q2 March 2021 over Q2 March 2020.
Linde India: On a consolidated basis, Linde India reported a 676.94% jump in net profit to Rs 303.24 crore on 88.08% rise in total income to Rs 740.63 crore in Q1 March 2021 over Q1 March 2020.
Kalpataru Power Transmission: On a consolidated basis, it reported a 461.29% jump in net profit to Rs 174 crore on a 15.7% rise in total income to Rs 4,104 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.
Global markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, as investors remain cautious over growing inflation worries.
U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday as speculation that rising inflation pressure could prompt interest rate hikes sooner rather than later dragged on shares.