Sensex sheds 889pts, Nifty gives up 17k; RIL, financials weigh; Infy up 3%

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with losses of 2.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively. Declining stocks outpaced advancing shares in more than 2:1 ratio

Closing Bell

Stocks across the board, barring the IT sector, witnessed significant selling pressure in trades on Friday as unwinding of global stimulus packages dented sentiment. That apart, unforseen threat from the Omicron virus and high inflation kept bulls at bay all through the day.

The BSE Sensex tanked to a low of 56,951, and evenutally settled with a heavy loss of 889 points at 57,012. In the process, the BSE benchmar ended the week with a significant loss of 3 per cent (1,775 points).

The NSE Nifty slumped to a low of 16,966, and finally ended with a loss of 263 points at 16,985.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries plunged 2.6 per cent to Rs 2,341, and alone accounted for a loss of 176 points on the BSE benchmark. That apart, the HDFC twins were the other major dragggers (223 points loss).

IndusInd Bank was the biggest per centage loser among the Sensex 30, down 4.7 per cent. It was followed by Kotak Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC - all down over 3 per cent each.

SBI, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Maruti and Tata Steel were the other major losers. On the positive front, Infosys surged 3 per cent. HCL Technologies, PowerGrid and Sun Pharma were the only other gainers.

Market Dashboard: Snapshot of key movers and shakers in trade today

The broader indices also finsihed with deep cuts. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 2.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively. The overall breadth too was extremely negative, with more than two declining stocks for every advancing share on the BSE.

In the broader markets, Kopran hit its second straight 5 per cent upper limit at Rs 318.95 in intraday trades today. The stock was was at its highest level since 1994, and in the past 21 months, the stock price of zoomed a whopping 1,874 per cent from levels of Rs 20.50. READ MORE

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Realty index nose-dived 4 per cent. The Energy, Bankex, Auto and Oil & Gas indices were down over 2.5 per cent each. The IT index also pared gains towards the close, still finsihed more than a per cent higher.

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Primary Market Update

Surya Lifescience IPO was subscribed 4.4 times as of 03:20 PM on Day 2 of the offer period. The retail quota was subscribed 21.36 times and NIIs 1.91 times.

HP Adhesives which closes for subscribtion today, was subscribed 17.55 times, with demand for retail portion up to 74.59 times. The NIIs quota received bids up to 12.60 times, and the QIBs portion was subscribed 1.01 times.
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Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The recovery in the benchmark indices seemed short-lived, as the Sensex and Nifty were once again holding signficant losses.

The BSE Sensex was down 669 points at 57,232, and the NSE Nifty has shed 200 points at 17,048.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Realty index has tanked 2.8 per cent. The Energy, Bankex and Auto indices were all down over 2 per cent each. The IT index, however, has gained 2 per cent.

The overall breadth was extremely negative, with more than two declining stocks for every advancing share on the BSE.
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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices has recovered some of its losses in mid-noon deals. The BSE Sensex was down 598 points at 57,303, as against the day's low of 57,050. The NSE Nifty was down 183 points at 17,065.

IT stocks continued to trade on a firm note, while index heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC and HDFC Bank remained the major draggers - the trio accounting for a loss of 350 points.

The broader markets have also recouped notable losses. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 1.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent at 24,721 and 28,720, respectively, as against the lows of 26,608 and 28,518.

In the broader markets, Go Fashion (India) slipped 8 per cent to Rs 1,051.25, and was trading lower for the fifth straight day, having fallen 13 per cent during the period. READ MORE

Primary Market Update

Surya Lifescience IPO was subscribed 3.69 times as of 01:15 PM on Day 2 of the offer period. The retail quota was subscribed 18.34 times and NIIs 1.3 times.

HP Adhesives closes for subscribtion today. The issue so far was subscribed 12.79 times, with demand for retail portion up to 57.21 times. The NIIs quota received bids up to 6.74 times, and the QIBs portion was subscribed 100 per cent.

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Markets at Noon

LIVE market updates: Indices are in free fall as bears have tightened their grip on the bourses. The BSE Sensex fell 803 points to quote at 57,098. The Nifty50, on the other hand, gave up the 17,000 level in intra-day deal for the first time since December 7. 

The BSE MidCap declined 2 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index slipped 1.5 per cent. All the key sectoral indices are down between 1 and 2 per cent, barring the Nifty IT index (up 1 per cent).

"The end of easy money, or Quantitative Easing (QE), is near as the Bank of England - one of the major central banks among G7 countries decided to hike rates. The move was unexpected, but commendable given the BoE is paying heed to the rising inflation whose last print stood at a decade high (over 5%) and as per BoE's forecast, it may rise to 6% by April 2022," said Nish Bhatt, Founder & CEO, Millwood Kane International.

Adding: "Keeping inflation in check is imperative given that the country is already facing the threat of a major spread of the Omicron variant of COVID19. The ECB deciding to keep rates unchanged is on expected lines, but it provided a glide path to end its QE program. This reflects its confidence in the underlying strength of the economic recovery of the bloc.” 

Bulls to be in check

The US Federal Reserve’s (US Feds') decision to quicken the pace of monetary tapering and raise interest rate sooner than planned to fight inflation is likely to keep the bulls in check on Dalal Street. Historically, there has been a positive correlation between changes in the US Fed’s balance sheet and the movement of the Indian benchmark indices such as the BSE Sensex and the Nifty50. And, this correlation has been especially strong since the pandemic’s outbreak. READ MORE

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Markets at 11am

Markets continued to reel under selling pressure with across-the-board selling. The S&P BSE Sensex was quoted around 700 points lower at 57,200 levels. The Nifty50, on the other hand, tested the 17,000 mark with most constituients trading in the red.

"Indian market valuations are quite full with the Nifty-50 Index trading at 23.9x FY022E ‘EPS’ and 20.5x FY2023E ‘EPS’ after factoring in 34% and 16% growth in net profit in FY22 and FY2023. Most 'growth' stocks have seen meaningful re-rating over the past 12-15 months on the back of low interest rates and expected economic and earnings revival," said analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities in a recent note.

Adding: "A combination of punchy valuations for the market and most stocks, likely monetary policy normalization from early CY2022 and potential short-term disruption to the economy from any increase in Covid-19 cases may act as headwinds to the market in H1-CY22. The positives of economic revival and earnings rebound are largely priced in. We expect market returns to be back-ended in CY2022."

Sectorally, all except the Nifty IT index were trading in the negative zone. 

In the currency market, the rupee opened lower at 76.25 per US dollar compared with Thursday's close of 76.09/$.

Here are the top losers at this hour.

Company	PRICE(Rs)	CHG(Rs)	CHG(%)	VOLUME
Indiabulls Hous.	234.95	-19.35	-7.61	3563306
Zee Entertainmen	347.10	-21.15	-5.74	683878
B H E L	61.35	-3.70	-5.69	1499809
Spandana Sphoort	443.90	-26.40	-5.61	3994
Vedanta	338.20	-19.65	-5.49	232081

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Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: Equities extended their decline on the bourses in morning deals as caution against global central bankers' actions and the Omicron variant grew. 

The BSE Sensex was at the lowest point of the day, so far, and quoted at 57,379 level, down 523 points. The Nifty50, too, was down 164 points at 17,084 level.

The pain in the broader market was severe with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices sliding nearly 2 per cent each. Given this, the market breadth was heavily skewed towards sellers with over 2,000 stocks declining on the BSE as against around 800 stocks that advanced. 

Sectorally, all except the Nifty IT index were trading in the negative zone. 

'EMs not fully pricing-in pullback of QE steps'

According to analysts, Emerging Market (EM) equities may come under pressure over the next few months as global these central banks begin to unwind their policies. The biggest risk for the markets, analysts said, will stem from the US Fed beginning to reduce the size of its balance sheet. The development, they believe, may not be fully priced in by the markets yet and can impact EM liquidity. READ ABOUT IT HERE

New listing

The shares of RateGain Travel and Technologies debuted on a weak note on the bourses. Against the issue price of Rs 425, the shares listed at Rs 364.8 on the BSE, a 14 per cent discount. On the NSE, the shares debuted at Rs 360, down 15.2 per cent.

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Opening Bell

LIVE market update: Indian equities started off on a cautious note on Friday amid acceleration of bond-buying programmes by various central banks to fight off inflation and suck excess liquidity out of the system. 

After the US Fed, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan have decided to hasten the asset purchase programmes. That apart, the Bank of England became the first global central bank on Thursday to raise interest rate by 25 basis points.

Against this backdrop, the S&P BSE Sensex opened at 57,853.5 level, down 47.5 points or 0.08 per cent. It's NSE counterpart Nifty50, too, quoted at 17,221 levels, down 27 points in early deals.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dipped 0.33 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Individually, the shares of Wipro and Infosys gained 2.5 per cent each while HCL Tech, Tech M, and TCS added up to 2 per cent on the NSE. The rally came in the Indian IT stocks after global IT consulting firm Accenture Plc forecast better-than-expected second-quarter revenue on Thursday, as more clients seek its cloud and security services.

That apart, shares of IRCTC slipped about 1 per cent even as the company said it has raised the frequency of Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express to 5 days.

Nykaa shares als declined 2 per cent on profit booking after the company said it will launch partywear collection.

Indiabulls Housing Finance, meanwhile, dropped over 5 per cent after promoter Sameer Gehlaut said he will step down from the board by the end of FY22. 

Among sectors, the Nifty IT was the only index in the green, up 1.6 per cent. All other sectoral indices were down 1 per cent.
 

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Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: Benchmark indices were volatile but traded higher in pre-market session on Friday. The BSE Sensex was above the 58,000-mark, up 138 points. The Nifty50, meanwhile, was up 3 points at 17,250.

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LIVE market updates: Domestic equities may witness another subdued trading session given tthe uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant. Also, market participants will track the foreign fund flows over the next few days given the global bankers' stance on early withdrawal of pandemic-related stimulus and rate hike by the Bank of England.

At 8:15 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,284 compared with Nifty's spot close of 17,248 on Thursday.

New listing
RateGain Travel & Technologies will be in focus as the stock makes its debut today. The IPO was subscribed 17.41 times, while according to reports the grey market premium (GMP) indicated a likely  8-10 per cent listing gain.

Global markets

The US markets ended lower on Thursday. Nasdaq plunged 2.5 per cent. Dow Jones was down 0.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 index shed 0.9 per cent.

Major markets in Asia were mixed this morning. Nikkei had declined 0.9 per cent, and Hang Seng had slipped 0.6 per cent. Shanghai too was down 0.2 per cent. Whereas,  Kospi was up 0.2 per cent, while Straits Times and Taiwan were flat.