Sixth straight day of decline: Nifty drops below 18,900 on mounting global concerns

The stock market extended its decline for the sixth day on Thursday, driven by rising US bond yields and escalating tensions between Hamas and Israel. Most indices experienced declines of over 1%, with only a slight recovery seen in the smallcap index before closing lower. Adding to the market woes were weak earnings reported by Indian companies and the heightened volatility resulting from the expiry of monthly futures and options contracts. The Nifty closed below the 18,900 mark, with all sectoral indices on the NSE finishing in negative territory. Stocks in the automobile, metal, and financial services sectors faced downward pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 900.91 points or 1.41% to 63,148.15. The Nifty 50 index declined 264.90 points or 1.39% to 18,857.25. In sixth consecutive sessions, the Sensex slipped 4.94% while the Nifty lost 4.82%.

Bajaj Finance (down 3.54%), HDFC Bank (down 2.21%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.41%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.06% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.32%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,439 shares rose and 2,221 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.69% to 11.73.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 0.31% to 7.366 from its previous close of 7.343.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.2475, compared with its close of 83.1725 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2023 settlement rose 0.19% to Rs 60,939.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.24% to 106.78.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.12% to 4.962.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2023 settlement slipped $1.22 or 1.35% to $88.91 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 171 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks.

Markets in Europe declined while Asian stocks traded mostly lower on Thursday as U.S. shares slumped following a batch of poor corporate earnings.

US stocks dropped on Wednesday as Alphabet shares slid after the Google parent posted disappointing earnings and as US Treasury yields rose, reviving fears that interest rates could stay higher for longer. Traders also kept an eye on the latest comments by US President Joe Biden after he had asked Israel to delay its invasion so that more hostages held by Hamas could be freed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection surged 8.65% after the company`s Q2 result triggered value buying after recent steep losses. The stock witnessed value buying after sliding 12.14% in the past three sessions.

The company today announced that its consolidated net profit rose 3.07% to Rs 18.12 crore on 13.07% decline in net sales to Rs 242.18 crore in Q2 September 2023 over Q2 September 2022.

Canara Bank added 1.78% after the public lender`s standalone net profit surged 42.79% to Rs 3,606.14 crore on 26.23% increase in total income to Rs 31,472.18 crore in Q2 FY24 over Q2 FY23. Net interest income grew by 19.76% to Rs 8,903 crore in the quarter Q2 FY24 as against Rs 7,434 crore posted in Q2 FY23. Net interest margin improved 19 basis points (bps) to 3.02% during the period under review.

Axis Bank advanced 1.74%. The private lender`s net profit rose 10.02% to Rs 5,863.56 crore on 31.4% jump in total income to Rs 31,660.26 crore in Q2 FY24 over Q2 FY23. Net interest income (NII) grew 19% YoY to Rs 12,315 crore as against Rs 10,360 crore posted in Q2 FY23 . Net interest margin (NIM) for Q2 FY24 stood at 4.11%, up 15 basis points (bps) YoY.

ACC rose 0.56%. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 387.88 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with a net loss of Rs 87.32 crore in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 11.22% year on year (YoY) to Rs 4,434.73 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

Tech Mahindra fell 2.25% after the IT major`s consolidated net profit slipped 28.68% to Rs 493.9 crore in Q2 FY24 as against Rs 692.5 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 2.24% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to Rs 12,863.9 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

Asian Paints declined 3.36%. The paint major`s consolidated net profit jumped 54.01% to Rs 1,205.42 crore in Q2 FY24 as against Rs 782.71 crore recorded in Q2 FY23. Net sales rose marginally to Rs 8,451.93 crore in Q2 FY24 from Rs 8,430.60 crore reported in the same period a year ago.

Sonata Software rallied 8.75% after the company`s consolidated net profit jumped 3.37% to Rs 124.12 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with Rs 120.12 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 5.11% to Rs 1,912.57 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with Rs 2,015.53 crore in Q1 FY24.

Indus Towers shed 2.28%. The company reported 49% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1295 crore 10% fall in revenue to Rs 7133 crore in Q2 FY24 over in Q2 FY23.

Jubilant FoodWorks slumped 4.26%. The company reported 26.1% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 97.2 crore 4.9% rise in total income to Rs 1375.7 crore in Q2 FY24 over in Q2 FY23.

Indian Bank fell 2.07%. The bank reported 62% rise in net profit to Rs 1,987.76 crore in Q2 FY24 from Rs 1,225.22 crore in Q2 FY23. Total income increased by 26% year-over-year to Rs 15,736.23 crore in the second quarter.

IPO Listing:

Shares of IRM Energy settled at Rs 472.95 on the BSE, representing a discount of 6.35% as compared with the issue price of Rs 505. The scrip was listed at Rs 479, exhibiting a discount of 5.15% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of 483 and a low of 450.05. On the BSE, over 3.77 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

The initial public offer (IPO) of IRM Energy received bids for 20,62,70,910 shares as against 76,24,800 shares on offer, according to stock exchange. The issue was subscribed 27.05 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 18 October 2023and closed on 20 October 2023. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 480-505 per share.

IPO Update:

The IPO of Blue Jet Healthcare received bids for 2,24,16,115 shares as against 1,69,99,612 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Thursday (26 October 2023). The issue was subscribed 1.32 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (25 October 2023) and it will close on Friday (27 October 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 329-346 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 43 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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