Large-cap stocks again took the lead over the minnows, although the magnitude declined following a clarification by BSE that the new Add-on Price Framework was applicable to securities with market cap of less than Rs 1,000 crore. Further, it will cover only scrips that are part of X, XT, Z, ZP, ZY and Y group and quote at more than Rs 10 per share.
This sparked a recovery in the midcap and smallcap segments but even then both the indices declined for the third day straight. On Wednesday, the Midcap index lost 0.22 per cent and BSE Smallcap index 0.83 per cent. In the last three sessions, both indices have shed between 5-7 per cent spooked by a new surveillance framework by BSE.
The market breadth remained in favour of sellers. The BSE adavnced-decline ratio was at 1:2. Analysts believe broader markets may be close to making a short term bottom and this may enable the Nifty to rise mildly in the near term.
Overall, the benchmark indices ended the volatile session flat. After gyrating 591 points in intra-day, the BSE Sensex closed 29 points or 0.05 per cent down at 54,526. Nifty eked out 2-point gain to end at 16,282. Tata Steel, NTPC, Power Grid and RIL were the top Sensex gainers.
The sectoral trend was mixed. Nifty Metal snapped its two-day losing run and rallied over 3 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma tanked 1.5 per cent. Banking and financial sectors remained under pressure today.
On stock-specific front, Zomto's performance stood out. The stock rallied following its Q1 numbers as a better-than-expected revenue performance pushed investors to lap up shares. The scrip ended at Rs 135.80, up 9 per cent after rising as much as Rs 138.90 o BSE.
Lupin and Sequent Scientific, meanwhile, tanked following their Q1 numbers presentation. Lupin shares lost over 6 per cent to end settle at Rs 1050.20 as the company reported a disappointing performance for the April-June quarter (Q1FY22) on the margins front. Shares of Sequent Scientefic lost 15 per cent on a sharp 86 per cent YoY decline in Q1 profit.
A strong perfomance in Q1 pushed Pidilite stock over 2 per cent higher. The company's performance in June quarter looked impressive on a low base last year. Its Q1FY22 PAT stood at Rs 217.6 crore vs Rs 15.8 crore YoY.
Shares of Tata Steel rallied nearly 4 per cent to Rs 1426.45 on the BSE ahead of its Q1 results on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in the primary market, CarTrade Tech and Nuvoco Vistas IPOs managed to sailed through on last day of bidding process. CarTrade Tech garnered over over 20 times subscription and Nuvoco Vistas nearly 2 times. IPOs of Chemplast Sanmar and Aptus Value struggled to reach the halfway mark. Chemplast was subscribed only 25 per cent on Day 2 and Aptus 37 per cent. Both issues close on Thursday.
Now, going into trade tomorrow, apart from action in primary market, stock-specific activity will continue to remain high in the secondary market as hundreds of companies are slated to post their numbers, including Ashok Leyland, Aurobindo Pharma, Eicher Motors, Hero MotoCorp, IRCTC, NMDC, Natco Pharma, Oil India, Page Industries, Power Finance and Tata Steel.
Further volatility on account of weekly expiry will be high. Market will also watch out for IIP and CPI figures that are slated for release tomorrow. And on the global market front, Street will react to the US CPI figures due today apart from global cues.
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