MARKET: Sensex slides 400 pts; IT, pharma shares sink; Rupee tops $76-mark

Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Admin

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at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: Nervousness ahead of the US Fed outcome and increasing warning calls by the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the Omicron coronavirus variant, which is now spreading faster than the Delta variant, is keeping investors on the sidelines.


After starting with mild gains, the benchmark indices quickly slipped into the negative zone. The BSE Sensex was down 295 points at 57,821 levels, while the was down 79 points at 17,250.


In the broader markets, the MIdCap and Smallcap indices on the BSE werw down 0.11 per cent and up 0.19 per cent, respectively.


All sectors, barring the metal index, were in the red.


Currency market: The rupee is in a downward spiral as it hit a 3-month low today. The domestic currency has passed the $76-mark and is at 76.07 level.


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Opening Bell


LIVE market updates: Frontline indices started around flatline on Wednesday as investors begin countdown to the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome, due later today.




The Fed is the first among the four major global central banks, set to meet this week, to discuss whether to guard against inflation and end the current era of low interest rates and central bank asset purchases or sit tight given the economic threat posed by the new variant.



Against this backdrop, the BSE Sensex started at 58,144 level, up 27 points. The NSE Nifty, too, was little changed at 17,335.25, up 10 points.


M&M (up 2 per cent) was the top Sensex gainer, followed by (1 per cent), Axis Bank, Power Grid, NTPC, and HDFC Bank.


On the flipside, Bajaj Finance (down nearly 2 per cent) was the worst hit Sensex counter for a third straight day. Dr Reddy’s Labs, TCS, Tech M, Infosys, and HCL Tech were the other Sensex laggards.


“In the coming days, are likely to be impacted more by the message from Fed. If the Fed turns more hawkish and indicates two rate hikes in 2022, that would be negative for the which had factored in one rate hike and faster tapering of the asset purchases. But the Fed is unlikely to sound hawkish in the context of the uncertainty triggeted by Omicron,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.



In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were up 0.24 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively.


Individually, Paytm shares tumbled over 11 per cent as the anchor lock-in period ended today.


Trent shares, on the other hand, were up 4 per cent as the company plans to reclaim ground in the beauty business it exited 23 years ago.


Sectorally, the Nifty IT index dipped 1.2 per cent, followed by the Nifty Pharma index (down 0.7 per cent). The Nifty Bank and Auto indices were up around 0.2 per cent each.




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Pre-open session

LIVE market updates:

Benchmark indices were flat in pre-open session, indicating a quite start to the day. The BSE Sensex was up 5 points at 58,122 and the Nifty was at 17,324, down 1 point.


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LIVE market updates: Stock specific action and global cues will dominate the market trend on Wednesday as investors await outcome of the US Federeal Reserve’s policy meeting. Besides, Bank of England and European Central Bank meetings are also scheduled over the next few days.

As of 08:20 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,317 levels, compared with Nifty’s spot close of 17,325 on Tuesday.


Primary Market Update


HP Adhesives, one of the leading manufacturers of consumer adhesives and sealants, Rs 126 crore IPO will open for subscription today. The price band for the issue is Rs 262 – 274 per share.

Data Patterns (India) IPO was well received by the markets; the issue was subscribed 3.3 times on Day 1 of the offer. Meanwhile, MedPlus Health Services IPO was subscribed up to 1.46 times at the end of Day 2 of the offer, with demand from the retail segment up to 2.64 times the offer.


Global cues

ended lower on Tuesday as investors awaited cues from the US Federal Monetary Policy update later tonight. Nasdaq slipped over a per cent, while Dow Jones was down 0.3 per cent. The S&P 500 index declined 0.8 per cent.


Major markets in Asia this morning seemed subdued. Hang Seng and Nikkie were up 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, Shanghai, Straits Times and Kospi were down 0.2 per cent each, while Taiwan slipped 0.1 per cent.



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