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The domestic equity barometers ended with modest losses after a volatile session on Tuesday, sliding for the fourth straight session. The Nifty closed below the 17,050 mark after hitting the day's high of 17,224.65 in morning trade. Media and pharma stocks edged higher while PSU bank, metal and IT stocks witnessed a bit of selling pressure.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 337.66 points or 0.58% to 57,900.19. The Nifty 50 index lost 111 points or 0.65% to 17,043.30. Both the indices slipped 4% in four trading sessions.
Shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries hit 52-week low of Rs 2,269.65 during intraday today.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.46% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.84%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,185 shares rose and 2,341 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.
The turmoil in the US banking space with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the closure of New York-based Signature Bank dampened the investors sentiment. Meanwhile, traders will keep a close eye on the U.S. consumer price index for February, due to be released later in the day.
Economy:
India's annual wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation eased to 25-month low of 3.85% in February 2023 as compared to 4.73% recorded in January 2023 and 13.43% in February 2022.
Decline in the rate of inflation in February 2023 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, non-food articles, food products, minerals, computer, electronic & optical products, chemicals & chemical products, electrical equipment and motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers.
Meanwhile, India's retail inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), eased marginally in February but remained stubbornly above the 6% mark for the second straight month. Data released on Monday revealed that retail inflation stood at 6.44% in February against 6.52% in January. It stood at 6.07% a year ago. Both food and core inflation remained sticky and elevated at over 6% last month and the price pressures were higher in rural areas than urban centres.
Separately, as per the latest estimates of National Income released by National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), real GDP is projected to grow by 9.1% in 2021-22 (1st RE) and 7% in 2022-23 (2nd AE). This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank projects India to be the fastest-growing major economy in 2023.
New Listing:
Shares of Divgi TorqTransfer Systems settled at Rs 605.15 on the BSE, a premium of 2.57% as against the issue price of Rs 590.
The scrip was listed at Rs 600, representing a premium of 1.69% as compared to the issue price.
So far, it has hit a high of 615.75 and a low of 557.20 during the trading session. Over 3.43 lakh shares of the company had changed hands in the counter till now.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Global Surfaces received bids for 63,10,600 shares as against 77,49,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:33 IST on Tuesday (14 March 2023). The issue was subscribed 0.81 times.
The issue opened for bidding on Monday (13 March 2023) and it will close on Wednesday (15 March 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 133-140 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.90% to 3,675.45. The index slumped 7.85% in four trading sessions.
Indian Bank (down 8.43%), Bank of India (down 5.71%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 4.2%), Union Bank of India (down 4.19%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 3.6%), Central Bank of India (down 3.57%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 2.54%), UCO Bank (down 2.16%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.98%) and State Bank of India (down 0.97%) tumbled.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Mahindra & Mahindra (2.96) declined 2.96%. The company said that it has sold 2,29,80,000 equity shares, representing 6.058% of the paid-up share capital of Mahindra CIE Automotive, a listed associate of the company at a gross price of Rs. 357.39 per share. Following the sale, the shareholding of the company in MCIE has come down from 9.253% to 3.195% of its share capital.
Sona BLW Precision Forgings jumped 6.83% after auto component maker announced that Blackstone's 20.5% stake in the company has been acquired by long-term investors.
Varun Beverages shed 0.24%. The carbonated soft drinks maker said that it has invested 9.80% of equity share capital (5.68% on fully diluted basis) of Lone Cypress Ventures, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), for a cash consideration of Rs 3.15 crore.
Lupin added 0.65%. The global pharmaceutical firm said that the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) had completed an inspection of its Pune-based Bioresearch Centre. The inspection closed without any observation.
NMDC rose 1.44% after the company announced that Amitava Mukherjee, director (finance) has been assigned the additional charge of chairman and managing director (CMD) for a period of 3 months upto 31 May 2023. Amitava Mukherjee will continue as CMD upto 31 May 2023 or till regular incumbent joins the post, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, said NMDC.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell 1.59%. The drug maker announced that it has received final approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Clindamycin Hydrochloride capsules. Clindamycin Hydrochloride capsules are used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, skin, blood, female reproductive organs, and internal organs.
Tata Chemicals added 0.22%. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the company's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the rating at 'BB+.
GAIL (India) skid 0.23%. The company has declared interim dividend for FY 2022-23 of 40% on the paid-up equity share capital, which is Rs 4 per equity share, with a record date of 21 March 2023.
Krsnaa Diagnostics declined 0.20% after the company announced that it has won a tender to provide services of lab investigation facilities under 'Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thakeray Chikitsa' in Mumbai. The scope of order includes providing services of lab investigation facilities for BMC dispensaries and hospitals in Mumbai in the month of January 2023. The company said that it has operationalized 100 more pathology collection centers.
Surya Roshni rallied 3.47%. The company received orders amounting to Rs. 96.39 crores (including GST) for supply of 3LPE coated Line pipes from HPCL for City Gas Distribution projects in three geographical areas in the state of Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Global Markets:
European markets traded mixed while Asian stocks declined across the board on Tuesday as investors grappled with the fallout of failed banks in the U.S., including the Silicon Valley Bank.
US stocks ended lower on Monday even as a plan to backstop all the depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bank, along with other extraordinary measures, failed to boost bank shares. The fallout from SVB's collapse prompted President Joe Biden to promise stronger regulation of U.S. lenders, while reassuring depositors that their money is safe.
Traders are looking to the US consumer price index report later in the day for cues that may trigger further shifts in bets on the Fed's next move ahead of its meeting on March 21 and 22. As per reports, a hot inflation report will raise expectations the Fed could hike rates by 50 basis points, up from the 25 points it implemented in February.
