Sensex slides 396 pts; IT shares in demand

The domestic equity indices continued to trade with moderate losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded around the 21,650 mark after hitting day�s high of 21,831.70 in early trade. IT stocks advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 395.80 points or 0.55% to 71,199.69. The Nifty 50 index declined 130.45 points or 0.60% to 21,652.05.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.68% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 2.20%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,030 shares rose and 2,932 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index advanced 1.09% to 38,108.85. The index declined 0.40% in the past trading session.

Wipro (up 2.81%), Coforge (up 2.77%), HCL Technologies (up 2.54%), LTIMindtree (up 1.54%), Infosys (up 0.94%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.87%), Persistent Systems (up 0.79%), L&T Technology Services (up 0.74%) and Mphasis (up 0.73%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.20% to 7.100 from previous close of 7.114.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.0225, compared with its close of 83.0700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement fell 0.07% to Rs 62,248.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 104.10.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.14% to 4.181.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement shed 58 cents or 0.71% to $81.61 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shipping Corporation of India slipped 6.12% after the company�s consolidated net profit slumped 49.61% to Rs 134.35 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 266.63 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined 10.4% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,340.68 crore in December 2023 quarter.

Caplin Point Laboratories rallied 3.93% after the company�s consolidated net profit jumped 30.1% to Rs 119.82 crore on 17% increase in revenue from operaions to Rs 435.50 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23.

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) was locked in lower circuit of 10% after the company reported 29.89% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.94 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 22.73 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 14.31% to Rs 134.93 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 118.04 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

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