Barometers further pare losses; auto shares fall for 2nd day

The key equity benchmarks further pared losses in morning trade. The Nifty traded marched towards the 17,450 level after hitting the day's low at 17,324.35 in morning trade. Auto shares extended losses for second consecutive session.

At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 604.98 or 1.01% to 59,201.30. The Nifty 50 index lost 158.60 points or 0.90% to 17,431.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.38%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1277 shares rose and 1966 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of jobs report in the US later today. The report could further bolster expectations for the Federal Reserve to step up the size of rate hikes.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index shed 0.49% to 12,719. The index has lost 2.31% in two sessions.

Tube Investments of India (down 2.1%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.45%), MRF (down 0.97%), Bharat Forge (down 0.88%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.83%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Bosch (down 0.68%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.62%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 0.54%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.53%) and Balkrishna Industries (down 0.52%).

Tata Motors rose 1%. The auto major said that its subsidiary, Tata Technologies, has filed a draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering. It is planning an initial public offering by way of an offer for sale of up to 9,57,08,984 equity shares for cash, representing approximately 23.60% of its paid-up share capital.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Magellanic Cloud was locked in an upper circuit of 5%. The company informed that its board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 to consider issue of bonus shares to the existing equity shareholders of the company.

REC fell 2.54%. The company's board on Thursday (9 March 2023) approved raising Rs 1.2 lakh crore via various debt instruments for the financial year 2023-24.

Thermax added 1.04%. The company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to explore green hydrogen projects, including new manufacturing facilities in India.

Global markets:

Brent crude futures fell $1.07, or 1.3%, to settle at $81.59 a barrel on Thursday, their lowest close since 22 February.

The US Dow Jones index futures were down 124 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today.

Asian stocks fell across the board on Friday, as investors await the closely watched February non-farm payrolls report from the U.S. that could further determine the direction on the Federal Reserve's rate hikes ahead.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slumped 2.32%, leading losses in the region.

The US stocks tumbled Thursday, as investors braced for a key payroll report Friday that could shape the direction of interest rates. The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.

Thursday's losses brought the Dow to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since 9 November 2022.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended 4 March, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

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