Sensex tanks 384 points at open, Nifty holds 15,700; realty, metal stocks drag

Benchmark equity Indices opened lower on Monday ahead of the CPI and WPI inflation for the month of May. In opening trade, Sensex was at 52,090, down 384 points or 0.73% while the broader market index Nifty 50 slipped 97 points or 0.62% to  15,701.

“Market signals do not indicate clarity on the direction of the market. While increasing FII buying, selective high-quality buying by DIIs & enthusiastic retail activity are positives for the market, the froth building up in the broader market is an area of concern. Nifty Small-cap index trading at a premium to Nifty reflects the ‘irrational exuberance’ of retail investors. But exuberance may continue. Meanwhile, the news on the Covid front is very good with fresh cases dropping steadily. Progressive unlocking will pave the way for recovery in growth & earnings. Investors should be selective & cautious in investment preferring high-quality stocks to small caps,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Gainers & losers

Infosys, Reliance Industries, TCS & ONGC were top gainers on the Sensex. Bajaj Finance, SBI, NTPC, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv lost anywhere between 0.90 – 1.41%.

Sectoral indices

All sectoral indices on NSE were in the red. Nifty Realty index tanked the most and was down 2.63%. Nifty Metal tumbled 2.22%, Nifty Pharma index slipped 1.32% and Nifty Bank was down 1%. Nifty Auto & Nifty FMCG indices lost around 0.75%.

Broader market

In the broader market pain was less as the BSE MidCap index down 0.52%. On the other hand. the BSE SmallCap index gained 0.23%.

Economy 

In economic data, Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) and Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) inflation for May 2021 will be released later today.

India’s index of industrial production (IIP) rose by a sharp 134.44% in April 2021, as per data from the National Statistical Office, which stressed that the numbers are not strictly comparable with April 2020 when the country was in the midst of a national lockdown. April’s industrial output was just 0.08% higher than the pre-pandemic levels of April 2019. On a sequential month-on-month basis, April’s IIP contracted 12%.

Earnings today

Coal India, IDFC, Indian Overseas Bank, Aditya Consumer Marketing, Arihant Capital Markets, BF Investment, BFL Asset Finvest, BF Utilities, Gayatri Projects, Globus Spirits, Greenply Industries, Hemisphere Properties India, IFB Industries, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Kajaria Ceramics, Kellton Tech Solutions, Mirc Electronics, Satin Creditcare Network, Singer India, Swelect Energy Systems and Uttam Sugar Mills will declare their quarterly earnings on June 14.

Stocks in spotlight

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has designed and delivered a key customer experience transformation program for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), a leading provider of communications, networking, and cloud solutions tailored to customers’ industries, to drive improved sales velocity and revenue growth.

Adani Enterprises said that the company has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary namely, Adani Cement Industries (ACIL) on 11th June 2021 to carry on business as manufacturers, producers, processors of all types of cement.

Info Edge (India) said that the board of directors of the company approved acquisition of 100% of the Share Capital on a fully diluted basis of Zwayam Digital Pvt. Ltd. for an aggregate cash consideration of about Rs 61 crore.

DLF reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 480.94 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 1,857.76 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter increased by 1.75% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,906.59 crore.

Bharat Heavy Electricals reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,034.82 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 1,532.67 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter increased by 39.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 7,254.30 crore.

Sun TV Network reported a 98.77% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 487.46 crore on a 9.38% rise in total income to Rs 895.40 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Anupam Rasayan India reported a 113.29% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 22.14 crore on a 65.89% rise in total income to Rs 274.16 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Lumax Auto Technologies reported a 246.29% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 21.02 crore on a 40.37% rise in total income to Rs 392 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Ruchi Soya Industries said that the issue committee constituted and authorised by its board has approved raising of funds by way of the further public offer of equity shares of the company and the Draft Red Herring Prospectus dated June 12, 2021 (DRHP) for filing with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Global markets

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday in early trade, with multiple major markets in the region closed for holidays. Markets in Australia, mainland China and Hong Kong are closed on Monday for holidays.

U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday with the S&P 500 adding to its new record. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to a fresh closing high of 4,247.44, a second record close in a row. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to 14,069.42 with Apple, Microsoft and Netflix all registering gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 13.36 points to 34,479.60.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations staked their claim Sunday to leading the world out of the coronavirus pandemic and crisis, pledging more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations, vowing to help developing countries grow while fighting climate change and backing a minimum tax on multinational firms. The G-7 also backed a minimum tax of at least 15% on large multinational companies to stop corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxes, a move championed by the United States.