Barometers drop in early trade, Nifty below 21,450 mark

The key equity indices were trading with moderate losses in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals. The Nifty traded below the 21,450 mark. All the sectorial indices on NSE were in the red with IT, financial services and pharma shares declined the most.

At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 381.53 points or 0.53% to 71,119.23. The Nifty 50 index lost 137.75 points or 0.64% to 21,434.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.60% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.18%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,659 shares rose and 1,218 shares fell. A total of 87 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 10,578.13 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,006.44 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 January, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

LTIMindtree tumbled 9.69%. The company`s consolidated net profit rose marginally to Rs 1,169.3 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 1,162.3 crore recorded in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations increased by 1.2% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to Rs 9,016.6 crore in Q3 FY24.

Avenue Supermarts shed 0.86%.The company has opened two new stores today at Velan Mall, Tirupur (Tamilnadu) and Sehore (Madhya Pradesh). The total number of stores as on date stands at 344.

NHPC dropped 4.87%. The Government of India will sell 3.5% stake in the company through an offer-for-sale (OFS), with a floor price of Rs 66 per share. The OFS will open for non-retail investors on January 18 and for retail investors on January 19.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.13% to 7.172 as compared with previous close 7.163

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.1500, compared with its close of 83.1450 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement rose 0.06% to Rs 61,539.00.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was shed 0.18% to 103.26.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.34% to 4.093.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2024 settlement rose 17 cents or 0.22% to $78.05 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most of the Asian stocks advanced on Thursday, despite a fall in the US stocks, weak China data and a strong rise in global bond yields. Data showed China�s economy expanded by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, missing estimates.

Wall Street stocks finished lower on Wednesday after upbeat December US retail sales data eroded expectations the Federal Reserve will kick off its rate-cut campaign as early as March.

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