The Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply on Monday dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Infosys, HDFC, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries. The Sensex fell as much as 1,292 points and Nifty 50 index fell below its important psychological level of 17,150.
As of 12:12 pm, the Sensex was down 1,286 points at 57,053 and Nifty 50 index fell 331 points to 17,144.
Shares were lower in Asia after China reported Monday that its economy expanded at a 4.8 per cent annual pace in January-March.
Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. Hong Kong and Sydney were closed for holidays. Oil prices rose and U.S. futures were lower.
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Wall Street benchmarks declined last week before closing for the Easter holiday.
China’s growth has fallen well below the official target of 5.5 per cent for 2022. In quarterly terms the economy grew 1.3 per cent in the first quarter, compared with 1.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2021.
Authorities have ordered shutdowns in some major cities including Shanghai to battle the country’s worst outbreaks of coronavirus since it flared into a pandemic in March 2020. But the biggest impact of the shutdowns will likely be seen in the current quarter.
Back home, selling pressure was broad based as thirteen of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty IT index's 4.6 per cent fall. Nifty PSU Bank, Bank, Private bank, Realty, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, and Financial Services indices also fell between 1-2.6 per cent.
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On the other hand, select FMCG and metal shares were witnessing buying interest.
Mid- and small-cap shares were also facing selling pressure with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indexes falling 1.3 per cent each.
Infosys was the top Nifty lose, the stock fell as much as 8.95 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,592 after it reported subdued March quarter earnings post market hours on Wednesday. "Infosys reported a subdued 4QFY22 performance. Revenue as well as margins were below our expectations. Considering the industry-leading double-digit revenue growth, rising share of digital business (58.5 per cent of revenue), elevated EBIT margin levels vs. pre-Covid levels and a consistent capital allocation policy, we have a BUY recommendation at present with a 1-Yr target price of Rs 2,250, valuing the stock at 30x FY24E earnings," said Mitul Shah, head of research at Reliance Securities.
Tech Mahindra, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Apollo Hospitals, Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies, UPL, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel also fell between 1.8-5 per cent.
On the flipside, NTPC, SBI Life, Tata Steel, HDFC Life, ONGC, Divi's Labs, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 2,121 shares were declining while 1,272 were advancing on the BSE.
(With inputs from AP)
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