Sensex, Nifty Resume Down Move After A Day's Pause; Focus Shifts To Earnings

The Indian equity benchmarks resumed their down move after a day's pause in the previous session as investors lightened their positions ahead of corporate earnings which will begin today with Tata Consultancy Services amid weak global cues. The Sensex fell as much as 553 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 17,650 dragged by losses Infosys, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, HCL Technologies and Axis Bank.

The Sensex declined 483 points to close at 58,965 and Nifty 50 index fell 109 points to close at 17,675.

Gobal stock markets and Wall Street futures sank Monday after the Federal Reserve indicated it might raise interest rates more aggressively to cool U.S. inflation and President Emmanuel Macron emerged from the first round of France’s election facing a challenge from the far right.

London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated. Oil fell more than $2 per barrel on concern global economic growth might weaken.

Investors are uneasy about higher interest rates, Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s effort to contain coronavirus outbreaks.

Back home, investors shifted their focus on March quarter earnings and lightened their positions which will begin today with Tata Consultancy Services, analysts said. March quarter earnings season will be watched out very closely by market participants in the backdrop of rising raw material costs which will impact profit margins of the companies, analysts added.

Ten of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty IT index's 1.4 per cent fall. Nifty PSU Bank, Financial Services, Bank and Private Bank indices also fell between 0.2-0.6 per cent.

On the other hand, realty, oil & gas and media stocks witnessed buying interest.

Broader markets outperformed their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 0.6 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed on a flat note.

Veranda Learning Solutions made a strong stock market debut, the stock opened for trading at Rs 157, marking an upside of 15 per cent from issue price of Rs 137. The stock rose as much as 20 per cent from the IPO price.

Shares of Adani Group rallied on Monday after Dubai-based conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) announced that it will invest $2 billion in three green-focused companies of Adani Group.

Stocks of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) surged 9.08 per cent to hit fresh 52-week high of Rs 2,520. At 2:32 pm, shares of AGEL advanced 8.1 per cent to Rs 2,323. Meanwhile, shares of Adani Transmission Limited were up 3.46 per cent at Rs 2,630, while Adani Enterprises advanced 0.1 per cent at Rs 2,174. 

HCL Technologies was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 2.65 per cent to close at Rs 1,134. Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Wipro, SBI Life, Asian Paints, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Labs also fell between 1-2.6 per cent.

On the flipside, Grasim Industries was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 2.6 per cent to close at Rs 1,817. Adani Ports, Cipla, Apollo Hospitals, JSW Steel, UPL, Bharat Petroleum, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Coal India, Tata Consumer Products and HDFC Life were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,099 shares closed higher while 1,458 ended lower on the BSE.