Sensex tanks 296 points; Nifty below 14,750

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Benchmark Indian equity indices opened with a gap down on Wednesday, tracking cues from Asian peers which opened weaker after setbacks to the recovery from the pandemic weighed on U.S. equities and oil. In opening trades, Sensex tanked 296 points or 0.59% at 49,754. While the broader market index Nifty50 was trading at 14,727 sinks 86 points or 0.59%.

ONGC, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank & Reliance were top losers on the Sensex falling over 1%. On the upside, Asian Paints jumped 0.89%, Bharti Airtel rose 0.72%, Powergrid gained 0.59%, while HUL & ITC were up 0.30% & 0.18% respectively.

Sectorally, Nifty Metal lost the most down 1.16%, followed by Nifty Bank falling 0.87%, Nifty Auto & IT index slipped close to 0.45%, while Nifty Realty was down 0.32%. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma was up 0.33%.

Overall market breadth was negative as 881 shared declined versus 789 stocks advancing while 552 stocks remained unchanged.

Broader market outperformed benchmark indices as BSE MidCap index was flat at 20,432 down 0.01%, whereas BSE SmallCap fell 0.06%.

Stocks in spotlight Shares of Anupam Rasayan will debut on the bourses today, 24 March 2021. The specialty chemicals company raised Rs 760 crore through its public issue. The IPO was subscribed 44 times. The issue was sold in the price band of Rs 553-555 per share.

Hero MotoCorp will make an upward revision in the ex-showroom prices of its motorcycles and scooters, with effect from April 1, 2021. The price hike has been necessitated to partially offset the impact of increased commodity costs. The company has accelerated its cost savings program to ensure minimal impact on the customer. The price increase across the range of two-wheelers will be up to Rs. 2500, and the exact quantum of the increase will vary on the basis of the model and the specific market.

Seperately, Hero MotoCorp launched the new Destini 125 ‘Platinum’ edition. Coming close on the heels of Maestro Edge 125 Stealth and Pleasure+ Platinum, the new scooter further extends the diverse range of offerings in Hero’s scooter portfolio.

Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) will be in focus. The Government of India will sell 20,85,02,010 equity shares of Rail Vikas Nigam or 10% of total paid up equity, through offer for sale route on March 24-25. In case of oversubscription, the government will sell additional 10,42,51,005 equity shares or 5% shareholding in the company. The floor price for the offer has been fixed at Rs 27.50 per share.

Rossari Biotech announced that its Board of Directors has approved the issuance of up to 30,12,046 equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each, on a preferential basis. The Board of Directors determined a floor price of Rs 996 per equity share or such higher price, aggregating to Rs 300 crore.

Bank of Maharashtra said the bank has successfully raised Capital of Rs.100 crore through private placement of BASEL III Compliant Tier II Bonds.

Equitas Small Finance Bank has renewed its partnership with Chennai Super Kings for the IPL season 2021. It will be the ‘Official Retail Banking Partner’ for the team. In line with the brand ethos and the logo positioning at the back of the helmet & cap, it is also going to launch a new campaign titled “The Bank Behind Every Champion”.

Vascon Engineers has emerged as Lowest Bidder for 2 Projects of Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department.

Global markets Overseas, most Asian stocks are trading lower on Wednesday as concerns over the world’s recovery from the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment.

An expansion of Japan’s factory activity gathered pace in March, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.0 in March from a final 51.4 in February.

The World Health Organization said most regions of the globe are seeing an increase in new Covid cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread. Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18, while nearly a third of France entered a month-long shutdown on Saturday.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the cost of infrastructure spending and potential tax hikes to pay for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill weighed on investors.

Federal Reserve’ Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made their first joint appearance Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. The duo acknowledged the richly valued asset prices in the markets, but said that they are not worried about financial stability.