Sensex drops 260 pts, Nifty slides below 21,600; RIL, HUL drag

The key equity barometers ended with small losses today. The markets commenced the session positively, yet the indices were dragged by selling in some heavyweight stocks. The Nifty concluded below the 21,600 mark, led by selling in FMCG, IT, and pharma companies.

The BSE and the NSE held a special live trading session today to perform a switchover to their Disaster Recovery (DR) site as part of the business continuity plan.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 259.58 points or 0.36% to 71,423.65. The Nifty 50 index lost 50.60 points or 0.23% to 21,571.80.

Hindustan Unilever (down 3.72%), TCS (down 2.07%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.8%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.46% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.41%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,063 shares rose and 1,748 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.17% to 13.72.

The Indian stock exchanges will be closed on Monday, 22 January 2024, in observance of the public holiday commemorating the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Global Markets:

US stocks ended higher on Friday. The S&P 500 posted a record high close fuelled by a rally in chipmakers and other heavyweight technology stocks on optimism around artificial intelligence.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.8%. The company reported 10.9% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 19641 crore on 3.2% rise in gross revenue to Rs 248160 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23. EBITDA stood at Rs 44,678 crore in Q3 FY24, registering the growth of 16.7% as compared with Rs 38,286 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. EBITDA margin improved by 210Bps to 18% in Q3 FY24 as against 15.9% in Q3 FY23, EBTDA growth was led by sustained performance in the O2C segment with higher gasoline cracks and advantageous feedstock sourcing. This was partially offset by lower downstream chemical margins and planned maintenance and inspection shutdown.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined 3.72%. The FMCG major�s standalone net profit rose marginally to Rs 2,519 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 2,505 crore recorded in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 14,928 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 14,986 crore reported in the same period a year ago.

Tata Steel shed 0.22%. The steel major announced it will commence statutory consultation as part of its plan to transform and restructure its UK business. This plan is intended to reverse more than a decade of losses and transition from the legacy blast furnaces to a more sustainable, green steel business.

ICICI Bank rose 0.92%. The bank reported 23.58% jump in net profit to Rs 10,271.54 crore on a 24.28% increase in total income to Rs 59,479.76 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Q3 FY23. Net interest income (NII) increased by 13.44% year-on-year to Rs 18,678 crore in Q3-2024 from Rs 16,465 crore in Q3 FY23. Net interest margin (NIM) was 4.43% in Q3 FY24 compared to 4.53% in Q2 FY24 and 4.65% in Q3 FY23.

Kotak Mahindra Bank advanced 2.3% after the private sector lender`s net profit rose 7.63% to Rs 3,005.01 crore on 28.77% increase in net total income to Rs 14,096.04 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) hit an upper limit of 10% at Rs 148.90 after the company`s net profit surged 67.14% to Rs 335.54 crore on 44.2% increase in total income to Rs 1253.20 crore in Q3 December 2023 over Q3 December 2022.

Tejas Networks dropped 5.9% after the company�s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 44.87 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 15.15 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations zoomed 103.95% to Rs 559.96 crore in the December quarter as compared with Rs 274.55 crore recorded in Q3 FY23.

One 97 Communications (Paytm) rose 1.33% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 221.70 crore in Q3 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 392.10 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 38.23% to Rs 2,850.5 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023 from Rs 2,062.2 crore recorded in the same period last year, due to accelerated GMV growth, higher device addition, and growth of financial services business.

HFCL surged 12.83% after the company has received a purchase order aggregating to about Rs 623 crore for supply of indigenously manufactured Telecom Networking Equipment for 5G network of one of the domestic Telecom Service Provide.

CreditAccess Grameen declined 1.04%. The micro finance lender�s standalone net profit surged 63.8% to Rs 353.42 crore on 42.38% jump in total income to Rs 1,295.23 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23.

RBL Bank rose 1.13% after the bank�s standalone net profit grew by 11.54% to Rs 233.09 crore on 27.37% jump in total income to Rs 3968.95 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23.

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