Sensex, Nifty trade sideways; auto stocks decline

The benchmark indices bounced back in mid-afternoon trade, tracking strength in European shares. Oil & gas, metal and auto scrips dragged while pharma scrips were in demand. The Nifty hovered a tad above 15,850 mark.

At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 51.47 points or 0.10% at 52,894.22. The Nifty 50 index lost 12.80 points or 0.08% at 15,850.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.46% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.51%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,924 shares rose and 1,312 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

A quantity of 725.93 LMT of Paddy has been procured in Kharif Marketing Season so far. The paddy procurement is progressing smoothly in procuring states including Chandigarh, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Till now, about 102.29 lakh farmers have been benefitted with Minimum Support Price value of over Rs 1.42 lakh crore.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement rose $1.31 at $124.52 a barrel. Soaring crude oil prices due to ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to spook investors. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements. A spike in crude oil prices has raised concerns over the impact on inflation, currency and input cost for companies across sectors. Higher crude oil prices could increase India's expenditure and adversely affects the fiscal deficit.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.38% to 98.91.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.899% as compared with 6.888% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 76.87, compared with its close of 76.9350 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement rose 0.44% to Rs 53,755.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index slipped 1% to 9,385.70. The index lost 13.85% in six trading sessions.

Ashok Leyland (down 3.03%), Tube Investments of India (down 2.92%), Eicher Motors (down 2.70%), Maruti Suzuki Industries (down 1.69%) and Tata Motors (down 1.60%) were the top losers in the Auto segment.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures recovered sharply and were now up 26 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stock market.

European markets advanced while Asian stocks declined on Tuesday. Wall Street's main indices fell sharply on Monday as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fueled concerns about rising inflation.

A Western ban on Russian oil imports may more than double the price to $300 a barrel and prompt the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany, Moscow reportedly warned on Monday, as talks on Ukraine hardly advanced amid efforts to agree on civilian safe passage. Brent, the international benchmark, briefly hit more than $139 a barrel, its highest level since 2008. A rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

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