The domestic equity benchmarks slumped on Thursday, sliding for the fifth straight session. After opening above the 15,800 level, the Nifty declined as the session progressed and closed below 15,400 level. Selling was wide spread with metals, autos, banks, and financials declining the most. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today.
Investors digested the US central bank's policy action on Wednesday. The US Fed announced a 75 basis point hike in interest rates, its biggest jump in 28 years, in line with market expectations, to tame the soaring inflation.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1,045.60 points or 1.99% to 51,495.79. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 331.55 points or 2.11% to 15,360.60.
Tech Mahindra (down 4.37%), Bharti Airtel (down 4.11%), Wipro (down 4.04%) and IndusInd Bank (down 3.96%) tumbled.
The Nifty hit a 52-week low of 15,335.10 while the Sensex hit a 52-week low of 51,425.48 in the last hour of trade today. The Sensex and the Nifty have lost 6.91% and 6.78%, respectively, in five consecutive sessions.
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In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 2.34% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 2.87% today.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 620 shares rose and 2,754 shares fell. A total of 102 shares were unchanged.
Numbers to Watch:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.617 as compared with 7.592 at close in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 78.10, compared with its close of 78.22 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2022 settlement rose 0.02% to Rs 50,450.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, decreased 0.13% to 105.02.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2022 settlement fell 57 cents or 0.48 % at $117.94 a barrel. The contract fell $2.66 or 2.20% to settle at $ 118.51 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Foreign Markets:
The Dow Futures tumbled 608 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.
European shares tumbled while most Asian shares ended mixed on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates 75 basis points in a move that equates to the most aggressive hike since 1994.
The Fed said in a statement it was committed to bringing down inflation to 2%. It also said it would continue to reduce holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. Officials also significantly cut their outlook for 2022 economic growth, now anticipating just a 1.7% gain in GDP, down from 2.8% from March.
During his press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also said, "either a 50 basis point or a 75 basis point increase seems most likely at our next meeting."
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index slumped 5.24% to 4,721.30. The index has tanked 5.92% in two sessions.
Vedanta (down 8.12%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 6.84%), Hindalco Industries (down 6.74%), Jindal Stainless (down 6.46%), Tata Steel (down 6.35%), Steel Authority of India (down 5.51%), Hindustan Copper (down 5.45%), National Aluminium Company (down 5.3%), NMDC (down 5.22%) and Welspun Corp (down 5.03%) slumped.
Stocks in Spotlight:
UPL fell 4.12%. The agrochemicals maker has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in the name of UPL Speciality Chemicals (USCL) which has acquired 100% holding in Kudos Chemie. Kudos manufactures speciality chemicals used as beverage and pharmaceutical ingredients and has manufacturing facility near Chandigarh. Kudos acquisition helps UPL to offer various value added products to its customers having synergy with its existing business.
Indian Overseas Bank declined 3.59%. The board of the PSU bank approved raising of funds worth Rs 2,000 crore by issuing equity shares and bonds in the financial year ending 31 March 2022.
NBCC tumbled 5.50%. The EPC company secured total business of Rs 330.35 crore in the month of May 2022.
Strides Pharma Science slipped 9.54%. The pharma company said its biologics arm, Stelis Biopharma, received the EU-GMP compliance certificate for two of its manufacturing facilities.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals slumped 4.59%. The pharmaceutical company on Thursday announced that it has launched Indacaterol + Mometasone fixed-dose combination (FDC) drug for patients suffering from uncontrolled asthma in India.
TCS fell 2.01%. The IT major on Thursday announced that it has been selected by QIAGEN, a global provider of Sample to Insights solutions in life sciences and molecular diagnostics, as the strategic partner for its cloud transformation journey.
Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) rose 0.44%. The company announced that it has secured a maintenance dredging contract worth Rs 250 crore per year from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA).
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