Barometers slumps on heavy selling pressure; Nifty slides below 17,000

The benchmark indices ended with major losses on Tuesday. Major selling was witnessed in the fag end of the trading session. Barring the Nifty Oil & Gas index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. HDFC twins and Infosys extended losses for the second straight day after lower-than-expected Q4 outcome.

As per provisional closing basis, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 703.59 points or 1.23% at 56,463.15. The Nifty 50 index skid 215 points or 1.25% at 16,958.65.

Selling was wide spread. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.20%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.21%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 1,156 shares rose while 2,255 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

India recorded 1,274 new COVID-19 cases and one death as on Tuesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The active cases currently stand at 11,860 and comprise 0.03% of the total infections. The recovery rate remained unchanged at 98.76% and 928 recoveries were reported on Monday. The daily positivity rate was at 0.31% while the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.34%.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto fell 1.54% to 10,580.30. The index rose 0.44% in the past trading session.

Among the components of the Nifty Auto index, Bajaj Auto (down 1.42%), Tata Motors (down 1.63%), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (down 1.76%), Eicher Motors (down 2.1%) and Ashok Leyland (down 2.39%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.23%), Escorts (down 0.3%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 1.02%) declined.

On the other hand, Tube Investments of India (up 1.82%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (up 1.71%) and Balkrishna Industries (up 0.67%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mindtree dropped 8.94%. The L&T Group company reported an 8.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 473.10 crore on a 5.4% increase in revenue to Rs 2897.40 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's consolidated net profit and revenue increased by 49.1% and 37.4%, respectively. EBITDA rose 2.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 31.5% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 608.30 crore in Q4 FY22. EBITDA margin was at 21% as in Q4 FY22 as against 21.5% in Q3 FY22 and 21.9% in Q4 FY21. The company's employee benefit expense jumped 6.35% QoQ and 33.38% YoY to Rs 1,750.30 crore in Q4 FY22. Its total headcount at the end of the March 2021 period stood at 35,071. The trailing 12-month attrition rate at the end of the quarter stood at 23.8% as against 21.9% in Q3 FY22 and 12.1% in Q4 FY21.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) rose 0.01%. The PSU company announced that it entered into an MoU with Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India, for entrusting project management consultancy for rail infrastructure works of MCL to RVNL from concept to commissioning.

AU Small Finance Bank rose 1.71%. The lender's board will consider a bonus share issue on 26 April 2022. The board will also consider Q4 March 2022 results and recommend dividend for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.

Indraprastha Gas (IGL) declined 4.61%. The company announced the receipt of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) approval for setting up city gas distribution (CGD) network in Banda, Chitrakoot and Mahoba districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Poonawalla Fincorp skid 5.33%. The company said it has entered digital consumption loans space through a tie up with KrazyBee. Under this partnership, Poonawalla Fincorp will offer small ticket personal loans to individuals. The company plans to cross Rs 1,000 crore of disbursement under this partnership in the current financial year.

Coal India (CIL) advanced 3.33%. The company said that, amid rising demand, it has raised the supplies to thermal power stations by 14.2% during the first half of April 2022 as compared to same period last April. CIL's supplies have hit 1.64 million tonnes (MTs) per day during this period against 1.43 MTs supplied in the similar period during April 2021.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care gained 0.54%. On Tuesday, the company appointed LV Vaidyanathan as managing director for a period of five years with effect from 1 July 2022. L. V. Vaidyanathan will take over the post from Madhusudan Gopalan, who is going to take on a leadership role within P&G as senior vice president - grooming & oral care of P&G Japan & Korea. Gopalan tendered his resignation as managing director of the company effective 30 June 2022.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) declined 1.78%. The construction major said that the international arm of the water & effluent treatment business of L&T Construction has been awarded 'significant' contracts. The contract has been awarded for the construction and the commissioning of water supply schemes for various towns in Tanzania. The project is being funded by the EXIM Bank of India.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones Futures were trading 67 points lower, indicating a negative start to the US market.

European stocks declined across the board while Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with investors' attention focused on the latest developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Global investors are watching Ukraine closely after the country's military reportedly said on Monday that a long-expected offensive push into the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has started, with intensified assaults Monday in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk operational districts in the north and east of the country.

With the conflict showing no signs of ending soon, the World Bank has lowered its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, from 4.1% to 3.2%, citing the pressure that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has placed on the global economy.

On Monday, the People's Bank of China announced it will increase financial support for industries, businesses and people affected by COVID-19.

Crypto Market:

Among the popular crypto currencies, Binance Coin (BNB) (up 3.96%), Ethereum (ETH) (up 3.54%) and Bitcoin (BTC) (up 3.30%) advanced.

However, Tether (USDT) (down 1.06%) and Doge Coin (down 0.29%) declined.

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