Market drifts lower in early trade; breadth strong

Key benchmark indices are trading lower in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 100.07 points or 0.19% at 52,669.66. The Nifty 50 index was down 29.55 points or 0.19% at 15,782.80. The Nifty slipped below the 15,800 mark in early trade. Most Asian stocks are trading lower.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.23%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1651 shares rose and 971 shares fell. A total of 94 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

Mindtree jumped 7.36%. On a consolidated basis, Mindtree reported 8.2% increase in net profit to Rs 343.40 crore on 8.6% rise in revenues to Rs 2,291.70 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. In dollar terms, the company posted 7.5% rise in consolidated net profit to $46.5 million on 7.7% increase in revenues to $310.5 million in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

Adani Enterprises rose 0.17%. Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has taken over the management control of Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) from the GVK Group. This follows approvals received from the Government of India, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, and the Government of Maharashtra.

Zuari Agro Chemicals surged 3.67%. Zuari Agro Chemicals informed that the SSP plant of the company in Mahad has resumed its operations with supply of raw materials having been tied up with a supplier. The NPK A Plant has been shut down due to unavailability of raw materials.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality rose 0.48%. Barbeque-Nation Hospitality said that ratings agency ICRA has upgraded the credit rating for the company's bank facilities on a long-term scale to A- (stable). On the short-term scale, the rating assigned is A2+.

NBCC (India) rose 0.18%. NBCC (India) said the company has secured the total business of Rs 206 crore in the month of June, 2021.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks mostly slipped on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report for June overnight.

Singapore's economy grew 14.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, official advanced estimates showed Wednesday. Still, the economy contracted by 2% as compared with the previous quarter, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said.

US stocks slipped after posting new highs on Tuesday as the biggest hike in U.S. inflation in 13 years rattled investors.

Inflation rose at its fastest pace in nearly 13 years, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index increased 5.4% in June from a year ago. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, jumped 4.5%, the sharpest move for that measure since September 1991.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to appear in front of Congress Wednesday and Thursday to provide an update on monetary policy.

Investors are also monitoring the spread of the more contagious delta variant of Covid-19, which is hampering the recovery from the pandemic in some parts of the world. The unfolding earnings season is key too, with global stocks close to record highs on optimism over the bounce back from the health crisis.

Back home, the key equity indices ended with strong gains on Tuesday, tracking positive cues from other Asian stock markets. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 397.04 points or 0.76% to 52,769.73. The Nifty 50 index added 119.75 points or 0.76% to 15,812.35.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 113.83 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 344.19 crore in the Indian equity market on 13 July, provisional data showed.

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