Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Snap Three-Week Winning Streak After Friday Drop

Overseas investors turned net sellers of Indian equities on Friday. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 8,027.00 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 6,341.53 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign institutions have been net buyers of Rs 24240 crore worth of Indian equities so far in 2024, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd., updated till the previous trading day.

The NSE Nifty 50 closed 234.40 points, or 1.03%, lower at 22,519.40, and the BSE S&P Sensex declined 793.25 points, or 1.06%, to end at 74,244.90.

• The yield on the 10-year bond closed 7 bps higher at 7.18%.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency weakened by 23 paise to close at 83.42 against the U.S dollar.

• It closed at 83.19 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark indices ended sharply lower on profit booking and as heavy-weight HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. dragged.

The Nifty closed at 22,519.40, down 234.40 points or 1.03% while the Sensex ended 793.25 points or 1.06% lower at 74,244.90.

In terms of the week, the benchmark indices snapped three-week winning streak to end the week flat.

Intraday, the NSE Nifty 50 fell 1.06% to 22,512.70, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 1.10% to 74,213.76.

"Nifty slipped lower as it experienced a consolidation breakdown in the lower timeframe. The sentiment appears somewhat negative for the short term. However, there is observed support at 22500 on a closing basis. As long as it maintains above 22500 on a closing basis, we do not anticipate a significant correction in the market. Sustained trading above 22500 could potentially push the index towards 22650-22700 once more. Conversely, a drop below 22500 might initiate a correction of 200-250 points on the downside," said Rupak De, senior technical analyst, LKP Securities.

The benchmark indices ended the week flat. The NSE Nifty 50 declined 0.03%, and the S&P BSE Sensex settled flat.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. weighed on the benchmark index.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Divi's Laboratories Ltd., and Nestle India Ltd. limited losses in the benchmark index.

All 12 sectors ended in negative on NSE. The NSE Nifty Pharma index fell the most among peer indices tracking sharp losses in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The NSE Nifty Metal was the best performing sector.

Broader markets ended lower on BSE. The S&P BSE Midcap index ended 0.49%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index settled 0.60%.

On BSE, all 20 sectors ended lower. The S&P BSE Consumer Durables fell over 1% to become the top loser, and the S&P BSE was the best performing sector.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 2,365 stocks declined, 1,475 stocks advanced, and 103 remained unchanged on BSE.

• Q4 pre-sales at Rs 743 crore, up 6%.

• FY24 annual sales at Rs 2,822 crore, up 26% YoY

• Kolte Patil Developers launched projects with total GDV of Rs 3,800 crore in FY24 in Pune and Bengaluru.

Source: Exchange Filing

As of 2:40 p.m., HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd., Infosys Ltd. weighed on the index.

Tata Motors Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Divi's Laboratories Ltd., and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. added to the Index.

• Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd. has inked a pact with ENERCON for wind energy solutions.

Source: Exchange Filing

India's benchmark stock indices were trading lower through midday on Friday, led by losses in index heavyweights HDFC Bank Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The indices fell as back-to-back strong US economic data, including a better-than-expected CPI in March, pushed back expectations of an earlier rate cut by the Fed.

At 12:44 p.m., the NSE Nifty 50 traded 181.95 points, or 0.59%, lower at 22,571.85, and the BSE S&P Sensex fell 605 points, or 0.8%, to trade at 74,402.42.

Milan Vaishnav, founder and technical analyst of Gemstone Equity Research, expects the Nifty to neither slide nor give any "runaway kind of price". He expects the Nifty to trade between 22,400 and 23,000.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank will be relatively stronger than the 50-stock index, he said. "As long as it trades above 48,700, all technical rebounds will play out far better in the Nifty Bank," Vaishnav said.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Titan Ltd. were weighing on the Nifty 50.

On the other hand, those of Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and Bajaj Auto Ltd. were contributing the most to the index.

Most sectoral indices were lower with Nifty Pharma and Nifty Financial Services falling the most. Nifty Energy and Nifty Auto were the top gainers.

Broader markets outperformed. The S&P BSE Midcap was 0.40% higher, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index traded 0.29% up.

On BSE, all 12 sectors advanced, and eight declined out of 20. The S&P BSE Capital Goods rose the most.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 1,924 stocks declined, 1,723 stocks declined, and 132 remained unchanged on BSE.

• HDFC Bank owns 95% stake in HDB Financial.

• Investment may be conducted at a valuation of $7-10 billion.

• Investment to likely come ahead of HDB Financial's potential IPO.

• HDFC Bank yet to approve any transaction.

• HDFC Bank is reviewing potential buyers for HDB Financial stake.

Source: People in the know to NDTV Profit

• HFCL Ltd.'s unit HTL Ltd gets purchase orders of Rs 64.93 crore for supply of optical fiber cables.

Source: Exchange Filing

• Pratham EPC Projects Ltd. received Rs 497 crore orders from Sun Petro Chemicals for crude oil pipeline.

Source: Exchange Filing

The order value is double the total market cap of Pratham EPC Projects Ltd. The company's current market cap is Rs 241.98 crore, according to data on NSE.

• Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. is to exit retail business division '24Seven'.

Source: Exchange Filing

• March passenger vehicle sales at 3.68 lakh units

• March domestic two-wheeler sales at 14.8 lakh units

• March local car sales at 1.12 lakh units

• March local utility vehicle sales at 1.94 lakh units

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Eicher Motors Ltd. rose 1.14% to Rs 4,364.50, the highest level since its listing Sep 7, 2004. It was trading 0.97% higher at Rs 4,357.15 as of 11:35 a.m., as compared to 0.35% decline in NSE Nifty 50 index.

Shares jumped after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Neuland Laboratories Ltd. with a 'buy' rating on its exposure to a fast-growing CDMO with higher share coming from commercialised molecules.

• Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd. received a delivery of product tanker 'Jag Priya' of about 49,999 dwt.

• Alert: Dwt stands for Deadweight Ton.

Source: Exchange Filing

PSP Projects Ltd. plunged 10.13% to Rs 652.60, the lowest level since March 26. It was trading 6.75% down at Rs 677.10 as of 11:08 a.m., as compared to 0.42% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The scrip declined 2.74% in 12 months. On year-to-date basis, PSP Projects Ltd. declined 88.50%. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 9.5 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 45.28.

Out of 13 analysts tracking the company, 12 maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommend a 'hold', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 30.8%.

The NSE Nifty Midcap 150 index scaled a fresh high of 18,720.85 on Friday. The index has been rising fresh highs for four sessions in a row.

Shares of Delhivery Ltd. gained after its 1.03 million shares were traded on a bunch, according to Bloomberg.

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. erased some of its losses to move out of the 20% lower circuit on Friday.

Shares of Reliance Infrastructure were locked in 20% lower circuit after the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Reliance Infrastructure led Delhi Airport Metro Express to refund Rs 3,300 crore to Delhi Metro Rail Corp in an arbitral award.

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd. fell nearly 5% on NSE after its board has approved to file red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies for follow on offering, aggregating up to Rs 18,000 crore.

Vodafone Idea Ltd. has approved the follow-on public offer's floor price at Rs 10 per equity share with the cap placed at Rs 11 per equity share, according to an exchange filing.

• Manorama Industries Ltd. has begun commissioning of new fractionation plant having annual capacity of 25,000 ton.

Source: Exchange Filing

Shares of Computer Age Management Services Ltd. jumped nearly 6% today after the mutual fund transfer agency got Reserve Bank Of India's authorisation to operate as an online payment aggregator.

Shares of Phoenix Mills Ltd. jumped to record high on Friday after it recorded 27% annual rise in its gross retail collection in FY24

The commercial real-estate business's gross retail collection grew 27% on year to Rs 2,743 crore in FY24. During quarter four of the previous financial year, its retail collection grew 27% on the year to Rs 791 crore, the company said in an exchange filing on Wednesday.

The scrip rose as much as 3.68% to Rs 3,140 apiece, the highest level since its listing on April 23, 2007. It was trading 0.68% higher at Rs 3,049.05 apiece, as of 09:48 a.m. This compares to a 0.45% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 137.28% in 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 3.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 68.96.

Out of 17 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold,' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an downside of 8.4%.

• Shares of Bharti Hexacom Ltd. listed on the National Stock Exchange on Friday at Rs 755 apiece, a premium of 32.46% over their IPO price of Rs 570 apiece.

• Bharti Hexacom Debuts At 32% Premium Over IPO Price.

On NSE, shares of PVR Inox Ltd. rose to two-month high after CLSA retained 'Buy' rating on the company and maintained growth outlook.

CLSA has retained a 'Buy' with a target price of 2,280 , which is an upside potential of 65%.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. slumped nearly 3% on NSE after it said to the exchanged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified it Dadra facility under official action indicated category.

The U.S. FDA conducted inspection at Dadra facility from Dec 4, to Dec 15, according to an exchange filing.

India's benchmark share indices reversed their record rally to start the Friday's session in negative as losses in shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. weighed. 

As of 09:17 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 65.65 points or 0.29% lower at 22,688.15, and the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 199.29 points or 0.27% down at 74,838.86.

One can use this correction as a buying opportunity as the overall chart set-up of the NSE Nifty 50 is strong and indicates an extension of the current up move to achieve a psychological target of 23,000 with the downside being protected at 22,530, Progressive Shares Director Aditya Gaggar said.

"Bank Nifty is outperforming the Nifty50 and we believe a continuation of the same going forward," Gaggar said.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. weighed on the benchmark index.

NTPC Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd. dragged on the index.

On NSE, six out of 12 sectors declined, four sectors remained flat, and two advanced.

The NSE Nifty Pharma index fell over 1% to become the top loser, tracking sharp losses in shares of Sun Pharmaceutical industries.

The NSE Nifty Media index rose the most among its peers.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap index rose 0.11%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap rose 0.32%.

On BSE, nine sectors declined, and 11 advanced out of 20. The S&P BSE FMCG index was the worst performing sector, and the S&P BSE Power index rose the most among sectoral indices.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 1,603 stocks advanced, 1,162 stocks declined, and 139 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

• PNB Housing Plans to transform from housing financier to one that offers wide bouquet of products

• Better product mix and lower CoF to offset the near-term impact on NIM

• Minor uptick in opex despite the pivot towards affordable housing

• Asset quality stress behind; write-backs to further support profitability

• Expect to deliver a healthy ~18% CAGR in AUM and ~26% CAGR in PAT over FY24-26

• See favourable risk-reward, trades at 1.1x FY26E P/BV

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 76.40 points or 0.34% lower at 22,677.40, and the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 148.51 points or 0.20% lower at 74,889.64.

• The yield on the 10-year bond opened 6 bps higher at 7.17%.

• It closed at 7.11% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency weakened by 16 paise to open at 83.35 against the U.S dollar.

• It closed at 83.19 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• CLSA has retained a 'Buy' with a target price of 2,280 , which is an upside potential of 65%.

• Retains FY25/26CL admits of 187/210m and ATP of Rs250/257

• PVR Inox is sector leader in a consolidating market.

• PVR Inox/multiplexes occupancy should re-build in the mid-long term as multiplexes.

• Thinks current content challenge is not structural.

• Content challenge will hit multiplexes’ and PVR Inox’s near term ticket pricing and margins.

• The company plans to add 150-160 screens each year.

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Neuland Laboratories Ltd. with a 'Buy' with Price target of Rs 9,100, which is 46% upside potential.

• Barring challenges to FY25 growth on account of a high base, sees multiple catalysts:

• Expects improving biotech funding environment

• New capacity at unit-3 coming online from FY25-end

• Commercialisation of a large molecule in FY26/27.

• Key risks: product concentration risk, vendor consolidation, regulatory compliance issues.

• Goldman Sachs initiated a 'Buy' on Syngene International Ltd. with Price target of Rs 875, which is a 20% upside potential.

• Multiple catalysts are present for the company.

• Leading position in CRO space with CDMO business is set to inflect

• Improving biotech funding environment.

• Ramp-up of Mangalore API/ Stelis biologics plant in H2FY25/FY26

• Goldman Sachs expects new contract wins.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined inspection classification status of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s Dadra facility as Official Action Indicated.

• Alert: US FDA conducted inspection at Dadra facility from Dec 4-15.

Source: Exchange Filing

• U.S. Dollar Index at 105.25

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.56%

• Brent crude up 0.70% at $90.37 per barrel

• Nymex crude up 0.80% at $85.70 per barrel 

• Bitcoin was down 0.35% at $70,265.75.

• Systematix retains a 'buy' rating on Inox Wind with a target price Rs 724 apiece, implying a potential upside of 34%.

• Successful strategic initiatives have enabled balance-sheet deleveraging.

• Interest-bearing net debt stands at Rs 5 billion and the company is to turn cashflow positive in a few months.

• FY25/FY26 execution is expected to be 800MW/1,200MW.

• Expects to maintain a 50-50% split between turnkey and equipment supply.

• India to be 5–8GW market in FY25/FY26.

• Bidding process is far more disciplined now and is expected to remain so

• Merger is expected to conclude in coming months.

• Vodafone Idea has passed a resolution for approving, adopting and filing of the red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies.

• The telecom provider approved the bid & offer opening date to be April 18.

• It approved the bid and offer closing date to be April 22.

• Vodafone Idea approved the anchor investor bid and offer period to be April 16.

Source: Exchange Filing

• Oil prices spike driven by geopolitical risk premium in the Middle East

• Price strength on strong oil demand despite weak US data last week.

• Oil demand strength observed in the US, Europe, China, India, and Brazil.

• Expects demand decelerating to 1-million-barrels-per-day pace in 2025,

• Expects Russian oil output to fall, but exports to rise.

• Expects Iraq to restart Kurdish pipeline by April, unlocking incremental production.

• Acceleration in EV sales to contribute to peaking of oil demand by decade-end.

The Indian rupee strengthened 13 paise to close at 83.19 against the US dollar.

• Nifty April futures up 0.3% to 22,812.4 at a premium of 58.6 points.

• Nifty April futures open interest up 0.12%.

• Nifty Bank April futures up 0.36% to 49,019.05 at a premium of 32.45 points.

• Nifty Bank April futures open interest up 9.6%.

• Nifty Options April 18 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 23,200 and Maximum put open interest at 21,800.

• Bank Nifty Options April 16 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 49,000 and maximum put open interest at 49,000.

• Securities in ban period: Balrampur Chini Mills, Exide Industries, Hindustan Copper, IDEA, India Cements, National Aluminium, SAIL, Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

• Price Band changes from 10% to 5%: Kaushalya Infrastructure Development Corp.

• Price Band changes from 20% to 10%: Puravankara.

• Moved into short-term ASM framework: IIFL Finance, Kaushalya Infrastructure Development Corp.

• Ex/record dividend: Mold-Tek Packaging, S H Kelkar and Co., Goodluck India, Mold-Tek Technologies.

• Moved out short-term ASM framework: Rico Auto Industries.

• Atul Ltd.: To meet analysts and investors on May 2.

• Asian Granito India Ltd.: To meet analysts and investors on April 15.

• Protean EGov Technologies: 360 One Special Opportunities Fund - Series 4 sold 12.35 lakh shares (3.05%) at Rs 1,117 apiece, 360 One Special Opportunities Fund - Series 5 sold 3.76 lakh shares (0.93%) at Rs 1,115 apiece, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund Series 5 sold 5.37 lakh shares (1.3%) at Rs 1,130 apiece, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology Basic Retirement Plan bought 5 lakh shares at Rs 1,145 apiece.

• Bharti Hexacom: The company's shares will debut on the stock exchanges on Friday at an issue price of Rs ­­570 apiece. The Rs 4,275-crore IPO was subscribed 29.88 times on its third and final day.

Tata Consultancy Services and Anand Rathi Wealth.

• Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.: The company launched the drug-free migraine management device Nerivio in Germany through its step-down subsidiary Betapharm.

• The Phoenix Mills Ltd.: The company reported a total consumption jump of 27% year-on-year at Rs 2,818 crore in the fourth quarter, gross retail collections went up 37% at Rs 791 crore while total consumption was up 22% YoY at Rs 11,327 crore for the end of the financial year 2024, gross retail collections up 27% at Rs 2,743 crore.

• Metropolis Healthcare Ltd.: The company's core business revenue grew 15% year-on-year for the end of the fourth quarter. The company’s B2C revenues grew by 18%. The company repaid debt, resulting in a debt-free status as of March 31.
  

Most share indices in the Asia-Pacific region were trading lower as back-to-back strong economic data from the US compelled market participants to pull back their bets on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The Nikkei 225 was trading 191.50 points or 0.49% higher at 39,634.13, and the S&P ASX 200 was 28.80 points or 0.37% lower at 7,784.80 as of 06:37 a.m. The KOSPI index was trading 11.30 points or 0.42% down at 2,695.66 as of 06:37 a.m.

Benchmark indices on Wall Street rebounded on the back of technology stocks rallying. The Nasdaq 100 index ended 1.65% higher as of Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.74% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled flat.

Brent crude was trading 0.40% higher at $90.14 a barrel. Gold was higher by 0.55% at $2,385.46 an ounce.

The GIFT Nifty was 35.5 points or 0.16% lower at 22,679.50 as of 7:06 a.m.

India's benchmark equity indices ended at an all-time closing high on Wednesday, after extending gains in the last hour of trade. The NSE Nifty 50 also hit an intraday high of 22,775.70 points and the S&P BSE Sensex crossed the psychologically crucial mark of 75,000.

The Nifty closed 111.05 points, or 0.49%, higher at 22,753.80 and the Sensex ended 354.45 points, or 0.47%, up at 75,038.15.

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Wednesday. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 2,778.2 crore and domestic institutional investors remained net buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 163.4 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Indian rupee strengthened 13 paise to close at Rs 83.19 against the US dollar.