Barometers trade with modest cuts; Oil & gas shares extent losses for 5th day

The frontline indices traded with substantial losses in mid-morning trade as concerns over persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and escalating trade war tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment. The Nifty slipped below the 22,950 mark. Oil & gas shares witnessed selling pressure for the fifth consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 498.77 points or 0.66% to 75,796.02. The Nifty 50 index lost 113.50 points or 0.58% to 22,938.30.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.66%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.85%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,027 shares rose and 2,743 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Hexaware Technologies received bids for 7,38,108 shares as against 9,14,23,354 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:15 IST on 12 February 2024. The issue was subscribed to 0.01 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 12 February 2024 and it will close on 14 February 2024. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 674 and Rs 708 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 21 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Ajax Engineering received bids for 79,34,195 shares as against 1,41,49,997 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:15 IST on 12 February 2024. The issue was subscribed to 0.56 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 10 February 2024 and it will close on 12 February 2024. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 599 and Rs 629 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 23 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index fell 1.29% to 9,987.25. The index dropped 6.08% in five consecutive trading sessions.

Aegis Logistics (down 2.09%), Reliance Industries (down 2.02%), Indraprastha Gas (down 1.58%), Petronet LNG (down 1.56%), GAIL (India) (down 1.39%), Gujarat Gas (down 1.35%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 1.32%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 1.14%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.95%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 0.77%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indo Count Industries soared 10.24% after the companys consolidated net profit jumped 30% to Rs 75 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 58 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 30% YoY to Rs 1,151.55 crore in Q3 FY25.

Gopal Snacks slipped 3.26% after the companys standalone net profit slipped 70.31% to Rs 5.31 crore as against Rs 17.89 crore posted in Q3 FY24. However, revenue from operations rose 7.07% to Rs 393.57 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals declined 1.94%. The company has announced the launch of Clindamycin Phosphate Foam, which is a bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug, Evoclin Foam of Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks traded higher on Wednesday as investors digested the impact of recent U.S. trade policy changes on regional economies.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell re-emphasized on Tuesday the central banks focus on curbing inflation and signaled that policymakers were not in a rush to push interest rates lower.

In the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 added 0.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.28%.

Tesla Inc was a major weight on tech stocks, losing 6.3% during Tuesdays session as investors fretted over a slew of headwinds for the stock, including heightened competition from Chinese EV makers, as well as concerns that CEO Elon Musks focus may be too diluted.

Investors were still digesting the impact of recently imposed higher trade tariffs, which are expected to potentially underpin inflation and weigh on economic growth in the coming months. Further trade policy changes have also been signaled.

The Fed Chair is set to testify before Congress on Wednesday, where he is likely to be questioned about the impact of these policies on the economy and inflation.

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