Indices off day's low; Nifty above 17,700 level

The benchmark indices trimmed losses in afternoon trade, supported by gains in pharma, banks and FMCG scrips. The Nifty traded a tad above 17,700 level.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex fell 315.26 points or 0.53% at 59,295.15. The Nifty 50 index shed 84.85 points or 0.48% at 17,722.80.

The broader market witnessed profit selling. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.24%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.29%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, shares 1,877 rose and 1,474 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said that South Asian economies are expected to expand collectively by 7% in 2022 and 7.4% in 2023, with Indiathe sub-region's largest economyexpected to grow 7.5% this fiscal year and 8% next fiscal year.

ADB said developing Asia's economies are forecast to grow 5.2% this year and 5.3% in 2023, thanks to a robust recovery in domestic demand and continued expansion in exports. "However, uncertainties stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continuing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and tightening by the United States Federal Reserve pose risks to the outlook," ADB Outlook said.

Gainers & Losers:

Axis Bank (up 2.50%), ICICI Bank (up 2.12%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 1.30%), Eicher Motors (up 1.25%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.25%) were major Nifty gainers.

Titan Company (down 2.52%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 2.01%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (down 1.97%), Wipro (down 1.62%) and Hindalco Industries (down 1.45%) were major Nifty losers.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.43% to 37,751.55. The index lost 0.18% in the past trading session.

Godrej Consumer Products (up 4.51%), Dabur India (up 2.16%), United Breweries (UBL) (up 1.42%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.30%) and Britannia Industries (up 0.84%) were the top gainers in the FMCG segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) soared 10.13%. The government deferred the merger of state-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL due to financial reasons. The government has deferred the merger of state-run telecom companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) due to financial reasons, including the high debt of the latter, Minister of State (MoS) for Communications Devusinh Chauhan told the Lok Sabha Wednesday.

Government has approved the revival plan of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) on 23/10/2019 which inter-alia includes in-principle approval for merger of MTNL and BSNL. Due to financial reasons including high debt of MTNL, the merger of MTNL with BSNL is deferred, Chauhan said in a written reply to a question by BJP MP Nitesh Ganga Deb.

Macrotech Developers slipped 0.46%. The realty major Lodha Group, listed as Macrotech Developers after the company reported strong operational update for Q4 FY22. The realtor's pre-sales for Q4 FY22 stood at Rs 3,456 crores in India, rising 37% year on year despite strong base of previous year. Sales in Q4FY21 were supported by the stamp duty waiver in Maharashtra. Lodha said it reported its best ever quarterly performance in Q4 FY22.

Meanwhile, the company's UK investments had pre-sales of GBP 173 million (approximately Rs 1,700 crore) in the quarter. For FY22, the company had pre-sales in India of Rs 9,024 crores, rising 51% year on year. Macrotech said it met its FY22 guidance of Rs 9,000 crore in spite of the significant external challenges faced during the financial year.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Thursday, as volatility continued following details of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary tightening plans and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

US Fed meeting minutes released on Wednesday showed that officials planned to reduce their trillions in bond holdings by a consensus amount of around $95 billion. Meanwhile, policymakers indicated that one or more 50-basis-point interest rate hikes could be warranted to battle surging inflation.

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