Sensex slips 105 points, Nifty below 15,000-mark; metal stocks tank

Benchmark Indian equity indices were volatile on Thursday after opening with marginal gains slipped into the red amid mixed global cues and wild swings in cryptocurrencies the world over have made investors jittery over risky assets. In opening trades, Sensex slipped 105 points or 0.21% at 49,797; while the broader market index Nifty 50 slipped below 15,000-mark and was trading at 14,983 tanked 46 points or 0.31%.

Titan, M&M, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and L&T were the top gainers on the Sensex. On the downside, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel lost up to 2.50%.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index slumped 3.21%, Nifty FMCG slipped 0.49% and Nifty Realty fell 0.64%. Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma indices were trading with marginal losses anywhere between 0.05-0.15%.

Earnings today:

HPCL, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust REIT, Bosch, Cosmo Films, Disa India, Electrosteel Castings, EPL, Gujarat Industries Power Co., Havells India, JK Lakshmi Cement, KNR Constructions, Meghmani Organics, Plastiblends India, Music Broadcast, Relaxo Footwears, Torrent Power, Ultramarine & Pigments, Usha Martin, Zee Entertainment Enterprises amongst others will be declaring their quarterly earnings today.

Stocks in spotlight:

Fertilizer stocks will be in focus. The union government has decided to increase the fertilizer subsidy outlay for the year by Rs 14,775 crore. This will take the fertilizer subsidy outlay for 2021-22 to Rs 94,305 crore from a budgeted outlay of Rs 79,530 crore.

Axis Bank OFS for non-retail investors gets 4 times the demand as compared to the shares on offer. OFS for retail investors to open today. SUUTI will exercise the oversubscription option to sell another 0.74% stake in the bank.

Sintex Industries plant situated at Lunsapur in Gujarat has been damaged due to Cyclone Tauktae. The quantum of loss and estimated impact on the production due to the cyclone is being determined, the company said.

lndo Rama Synthetics (India) approved capex plan up to Rs 600 crore in the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary at Butibori in Nagpur towards the addition of balancing equipment, manufacturing of speciality yarns and installing a 700 TPD PET Resin manufacturing facility.

Fitch upgrades Tata Steel rating to BB with a stable outlook.

MAS Financial Services’ net profit rose 7.17% to Rs 36.33 crore on a 17.4% fall in total income to Rs 147.26 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

JK Tyre & Industries reported a net profit of Rs 189.12 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with a net loss of Rs 47.20 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales increased by 63.1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,927.28 crore during the quarter.

Endurance Technologies’ net profit rose 75.42% to Rs 187.40 crore on a 32.56% rise in total income to Rs 2,139.77 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Clariant Chemicals (India) net profit dropped 28.63% to Rs 10.97 crore on a 15.65% increase in total income to Rs 223.45 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Shree Pushkar Chemicals & Fertilisers informed that due to the severe cyclonic storm “Tauktae” hitting the shores of Maharashtra & Gujarat on 18 May 2021, the company has witnessed some disruption at Ratnagiri plant in Maharashtra.

Alankit informed that one of its subsidiary company i.e. Alankit Imaginations has launched a Digital Platform for investors for accumulating electronic Swiss Gold electronically in fractional quantities through Digital Swiss Gold App that enables investors to buy, hold, sell, and gift 24K Swiss gold in a simple, safe and Cost-effective way.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday, with data showing Japan’s exports surging in April.

Japan’s exports grew the most since 2010 in April, supported by a favourable comparison with the sharp plunge seen during the pandemic last year. Data out on Thursday showed exports rose 38% in April from a year earlier, compared with a 16.1% rise in March.

China’s benchmark lending rate was kept unchanged in May, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) sitting at 3.85%. The five-year LPR was also held steady at 4.65%.

Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower on Wednesday after minutes from an April Federal Reserve meeting showed participants agreed the U.S. economy remained far from the central bank’s goals, with some considering discussions on tapering its bond-buying program.

The Fed’s minutes said a strong pickup in economic activity would warrant discussions about tightening monetary policy in the coming months.