MARKETS: Sensex down 250 pts, Nifty near 17,700; Auto stocks outperform

LIVE market updates: The headline indices were steady in morning trade and continued to hold losses. The BSE Sensex was down 257 points at 59,301, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,707, lower by 73 points.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index was trading 0.46 per cent lower but the SmallCap index was higher by 0.11 per cent. Financial stocks including banks such as Kotak bank and IndusInd Bank along with IT stocks continued to reel under selling pressure and were the top laggards. Only 10 of the 30-sensex shares were in the green zone, while on the Nifty, 34 shares out of the 50 companies were in the negative territory.

Among sectors, shares of tyre companies slipped by up to 6 per cent on the BSE after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleged cartelisation and imposed penalty on select companies. The CCI had passed an order against five Tyre companies namely Apollo Tyres, MRF, CEAT, JK Tyre & Birla Tyres and the tyre association i.e. Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association. READ ABOUT IT HERE.

This apart, the Nifty Auto index was the top outperformer, and was up 1.6 per cent.

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Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices extended their opening losses in a volatile market on the day of weekly F&O expiry. The BSE Sensex was down 242 points at 59,316, while the NSE Nifty was lower by 56 points at 17,720. The two indices were now lower by 0.4 per cent.

Housing finance major HDFC was the top loser on the bourses, down 2 per cent on profit-booking. The stock had gained nearly 2 per cent on Wednesday after it posted a 11 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 3,261 crore in the December quarter, beating street estimates. L&T, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Tech M, ICICI Bank, Wipro and HCL Tech were the other losers trading up to 1 per cent lower.

On the flip side, the top performers were Maruti and Asian Paints, up 2.8 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. ITC and Titan were the other gainers ahead of their Q3 results. On the Nifty, top gainers included auto stocks–Tata Motors, HeroMoto Corp and Bajaj Auto.

Among stocks, shares of Bharat Dynamics (BDL) hit a new high of Rs 535.70, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE after the company signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore with the Indian Army. READ ABOUT IT HERE.

On the downside, shares of Jubilant FoodWorks shed another 1 per cent on the BSE as the Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts operator reported a 7.48 per cent YoY increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 133.19 crore for Q3FY22, which disappointed investors. The stock had closed 4 per cent lower yesterday.

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LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices opened on a tepid note on Thursday snapping a three-day strong budget led-rally. The BSE Sensex was 104 points lower at 59,454, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,744, lower by 36 points.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index wa down 0.3 per cent, while the SmallCap index was up marginally by 0.18 per cent.

Among the Sensex-30 constituents, Asian Paints, Maruti, NTPC, RIL, SBI, PowerGrid and ITC were the top gainers, trading 0.3-1 per cent higher. Tata Consumer was the top Nifty gainer, up 3 per cent on strong earnings for the December quarter. Meanwhile, HDFC, Bajaj twins HCL Tech,Tech Mahindra, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Wipro were the top losers, down 0.5-1.5 per cent.

Sectorally, barring Nifty Auto, PSU Bank, Metal and Realty indices, the rest were trading lower. These four were higher by up to 0.6 per cent. The top laggard was the Nifty IT index, down 0.75 per cent, followed by financial services and Pharma. Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices were flat.

Among stocks, eClerx Services was trading 1 per cent up on the back of strong Q3 results. Sheela Foam, meanwhile, was down 4 per cent on weak earnings for Q3.

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Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices were weak in the pre-open trades as markets head for weekly F&O expiry today. The BSE Sensex was down 80 points at 59,477, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,746, down 34 points.

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LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices are likely to start Thursday’s session on a muted note amid rising geopolitical tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising oil prices. At 8:10 am, the SGX Nifty futures were quoting 17,787 level, that is 20 odd points lower than the Nifty’s spot close the previous day.

Among stocks, Adani Power, GAIL, Godrej Properties, ITC, Lupin, Titan, Godrej Properties, JK Tyre & Industries, Jubilant Industries, and Kalyan Jewellers will be in focus ahead of their Q3 earnings today.

That apart, Jubilant FoodWorks may also be in the limelight after the company posted 7.5 per cent YoY rise in Q3 net on the back of 13.2 per cent growth in revenue. The company’s board also approved a stock split in the 5:1 ratio. The stock closed 4 per cent lower on Wednesday.

Global cues

The US stocks extended rally on the back of strong earnings and beaten down share prices. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq gained 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively; while the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 per cent.

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as OPEC+ stuck to its plan for a gradual increase in output despite demand for higher oil production. Brent Crude added 0.3 per cent to $89.47 a barrel, and WTI Crude was up 0.1 per cent at $88.26 a barrel.