The BSE Sensex declined by 616.75 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 73,502.64. Except for pharma, all other sectoral indices were down auto, capital goods, oil & gas, bank, IT, realty, metal, and power falling 0.5-1 percent each
Benchmark equity indices snapped their two-day gaining streak after selling in metal and banking stocks amid weak trends in global markets and SEBI warning over midcap-smallcap rally. The BSE Sensex declined by 616.75 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 73,502.64. The broader NSE Nifty slumped by 160.90 points or 0.72 per cent to close at 22,332.65.
Except for pharma, all other sectoral indices were down auto, capital goods, oil & gas, bank, IT, realty, metal, and power falling 0.5-1 percent each.
“Market has turned cautious ahead of key inflation data from India and the US this week. Further, Japan’s GDP increased by 0.1% in Q4CY23, vs -0.1% in Q3CY23, which raised speculation that the Bank of Japan is likely to increase its interest rates and discontinue its ultra-loose monetary policy. On the domestic front, sentiments dampened after the SEBI Chief highlighted irrational run-ups and expensive valuations in small and midcaps,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
“Also, Stress test disclosures for small and midcap funds are to be announced on March 15. This is likely to keep the pressure on the broader market in the near term. Going ahead, we expect the consolidation to continue in the market with large bouts of volatility. We recommend switching to large caps where the risk-reward is more favourable,” Khemka added.
Here are the key stocks to watch on 12 March:
Interglobe Aviation
IndiGo co-founder and promoter Rakesh Gangwal sold a 5.83 per cent stake in the budget carrier for Rs 6,785 crore through open market transactions. A total of 2.25 crore IndiGo shares were sold in three tranches, with the price ranging from Rs 3,015.10 to Rs 3,016.36 per share, according to bulk deal data on BSE.
ITC
British American Tobacco is looking to sell a part of its stake in Indian partner ITC Ltd. The London-listed company has been in talks with Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc for the potential divestment of ITC shares worth around $2-3 billion through block trades, according to a Bloomberg news report.
Aditya Birla Capital
The company said that its board of directors has approved the merger of Aditya Birla Finance Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, with the company as the large non-bank lender seeks to comply with RBI's mandate on scale-based regulations. The merger is subject to regulatory and other approvals. "Post completion of the amalgamation, Aditya Birla Capital will get converted from a holding company to an operating NBFC," a statement said.
Rail Vikas Nigam
The state-run railway company emerged as the lowest bidder from Central Railway for signalling and telecommunication work for the provision of automatic block signalling on the Khapri-Sewagram section of the Nagpur division. The company has also received a construction project worth Rs 399 crore from Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp.
Wipro
The IT major announced its partnership with Nutanix Inc., a hybrid multi-cloud computing company, to launch a new Nutanix-focused business unit. The collaboration aims to support mutual clients in expediting their digital transformation and hybrid multi-cloud adoption while leveraging the full potential of their Nutanix cloud investments.