Sensex down 200 pts; European mkt opens higher

The key equity indices continued to trade with minor losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below the 21,750 mark. Auto, metal and FMCG shares advanced while oil & gas, banking and healthcare stocks declined.

At 13:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 200.13 points or 0.28% to 72,210.25. The Nifty 50 index lost 63.35 points or 0.29% to 21,715.35.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.36% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.57%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,944 shares rose and 1,750 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Tata Motors (up 4.40%), Tata Consumer Products (up 3.50%), Tata Steel (up 1.95%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 1.18%) and Adani Enterprises (up 1.14%) were major Nifty gainers.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 3.05%), State Bank of India (down 1.57%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.38%), Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories (down 1.38%) and Cipla (down 1.25%) were major Nifty losers.

Tata Coffee gained 3.85% while Tata Consumer Products advanced 3.50%. The scheme of arrangement between Tata Coffee, Tata Consumer Products and its wholly owned subsidiary, TCPL Beverages and Foods, will be effective from Jan. 1, 2024. The scheme involves the demerger of Tata Coffee`s plantation business into TCPL Beverages & Foods and the merger of the remaining business with Tata Consumer Products.

Stocks in Spotlight:

RailTel Corporation of India rallied 8.85% after the company received the work order amounting to Rs. 120.45 crore (Including GST) from South Central Railway for comprehensive signalling and telecommunication works for provision of automatic block signalling system in Yermaras-Nalwar section of Guntakal division in South Central Railway.

Kalpataru Projects International (KPIL) surged 9.07% after the company along with its joint ventures (JVs) and international subsidiaries has secured new orders worth Rs 3,244 crore.

India Shelter Finance Corporation rallied 6.19% after the company�s consolidated net profit jumped 67.3% to Rs 60.22 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with Rs 35.99 crore recorded in Q2 FY23. Total income stood at Rs 210.55 crore in Q2 FY24, registering a growth of 45.9% as against Rs 144.35 crore posted in Q2 FY23.

Global Markets:

European shares advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on the last trading day of 2023, with investors assessing prospects of electric-vehicle companies after China�s Xiaomi unveiled its first EV. Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi on Thursday detailed plans to enter China�s oversaturated electric-vehicle market.

US stocks finished marginally higher Thursday, closing in on a new all-time high in the penultimate trading day of what�s been a strong year for stocks.

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