Shares trade lower; market breadth positive. 02March2022

  

The key equity benchmarks traded lower in early trade amid significant selling in many index stocks. While metals and oil & gas stock advanced, banks, financials and auto stocks edged lower.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 603.59 points or 1.07% to 55,643.69. The Nifty 50 index lost 162.70 points or 0.97% to 16,631.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.34%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1397 shares rose and 1146 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's GDP growth slowed down to 5.4% in October-December 2021 from 8.5% in the previous quarter, data released on February 28 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. The statistics ministry also said India's GDP will likely grow by 8.9% in FY22, down from its first advance estimate of 9.2%, released in early January 2022.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for February declined to Rs 1.33 lakh crore, down 5.6% from the first month of 2022, data released on March 1 by the finance ministry showed.

February Auto sales:

Maruti Suzuki India fell 2.71% to Rs 8087.35. The company recorded total sales of 1,64,056 units in February 2022, down 0.25% as against 1,64,469 units sold in February 2021.

Tata Motors shed 0.94% to Rs 449.90. The company's sales in the domestic & international market for February 2022 stood at 77,733 vehicles as compared to 61,258 units during February 2021, recording a growth of 26.89%.

Ashok Leyland declined 0.72% to Rs 117.90. The Hinduja Group company's sales grew 7% to 14,657 units in February 2022 from 13,703 units sold in February 2021.

Eicher Motors fell 1.22% to Rs 2554.70. VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), Eicher's unlisted subsidiary, sold 5,856 units of commercial vehicles in February 2022, registering a rise of 7.3% year on year from 5,457 units in February 2021.

Eicher Motors' total motorcycles (Royal Enfield) sales dropped 15% to 59,160 units in February 2022 as against 69,659 units sold in the same period last year.

Escorts added 0.50% to Rs 1861.30. The company's total tractor sales declined by 45.6% YoY to 6,114 units in February 2022 from 11,230 units sold in February 2021.

Hero MotoCorp were down 2.80% at Rs 2465.30. The two-wheeler major sold 3,58,254 units of motorcycles and scooters in February 2022, which is lower by 29.12% compared with 5,05,467 units sold in February 2021.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed on Wednesday as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to lead to a surge in oil prices.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as sanctions on Russian banks following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine hampered trade finance for crude shipments and some traders opted to avoid Russian supplies in an already tight market. Brent crude futures climbed above $108 a barrel, scaling highs not seen since July 2014.

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with financial stocks bearing much of the damage for a second straight day as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepened and stirred anxiety among investors.

Investors are also gearing up to hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his semiannual hearing at House Committee on Financial Services, which begins on Wednesday. Investors will be watching closely for his comments on potential rate hikes, as market expectations for hikes this year has eased slightly since Russia's invasion.

Equities drag minor losses; Nifty holds 17,300 level. 16February2022

The benchmark indices extended modest losses during mid-morning trade, as banks continue to drag the market lower. The Nifty gradually slips further into the negative territory, managing to hover tad above 17,300 mark.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 210.31 points or 0.36% at 57,931.74. The Nifty 50 index lost 43.90 points or 0.25% at 17,308.55.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.17% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.61%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,103 shares rose and 1,082 shares fell. A total of 105 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,298.76 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,411.60 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 February 2022, provisional data showed.

Economy:

India's overall exports in January this year are estimated to be 61.41 billion dollars, exhibiting a positive growth of 36.76% over the same period last year and a positive growth of 38.90% over January 2020. Overall imports in January this year are estimated to be 67.76 billion dollars, exhibiting a slower rate of growth of 30.54% over the same period last year and a positive growth of 30.19% over January 2020.

India's overall exports in April to January 2021-22 are estimated to be 545.71 billion dollars. This is a positive growth of 37.68% over the same period last year and a positive growth of 23.29% over April-January 2019-20. Overall imports in April-January 2021-22 are estimated to be 616.91 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 54.35% over the same period last year and a positive growth of 20.15% over April-January 2019-20.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index slipped 0.95% to 37,808.40. The index lost 3.42% in the last trading session.

State Bank of India (SBI) (down 1.73%), ICICI Bank (down 1.43%), AU Small Finance Bank (down 1.35%), Federal Bank (down 1.34%) and Axis Bank (down 0.80%) were the top losers in the Bank segment.

Punjab & Sind Bank jumped 6.58%. The public sector lender declared IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power as fraud account and has considered it as bad asset with dues of over Rs 148 crore. The bank has reported it to the Reserve Bank of India. Punjab & Sind Bank said that it had already made provisions amounting to Rs 59.54 crore, as per prescribed prudential norms. Meanwhile, the bank's board will meet on 17 February 2022 to consider allotting equity shares worth upto Rs 4,600 crore to the Government of India by way of preferential issue of equity shares.

Stock in Spotlight:

Repco Home Finance rallied 5.81%. The company said it has appointed K. Swaminathan as the managing director and chief executive officer for a period of three years. The company also appointed K. Lakshmi as the chief financial officer. T. Karunakaran resigned from the post of chief financial officer of the company with effect from 14 February 2022, due to elevation to the post of whole-time director of the company.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded higher on Wednesday, as investors react to China's inflation data. Meanwhile, tensions appeared to ease between Russia and Ukraine, boosting markets.

China's consumer price index for January rose 0.9% as compared with a year ago, slightly lower than expectations. Chinese producer inflation for January was also below expectations. The producer price index for January rose 9.1% as compared with a year earlier.

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, as signs of de-escalating tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border sparked a risk-on session.

Russia's government announced Tuesday that Moscow is starting to return some troops at the Ukrainian border, though NATO's chief warned that the military alliance has so far not seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground from the Russian side.