Share Market News Highlights: Indian equity benchmarks traded lower on Wednesday amid weak cues from Asian stocks. The domestic indices started on a higher note but gave up their gains, dragged by metal, pharma, consumer durables and auto stocks. Asian shares fell as Japan's Nikkei index slipped 0.56 per cent, the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.53 per cent and Hang Seng Index slipped 1.20 per cent lower. However, South Korea's KOSPI rose 1.06 per cent. China stocks struggled as rising Covid-19 cases in the country and its factory gate prices for October dropping for the first time since December 2020 hampered investor sentiment.
Overnight, all three major US stock indexes notched their third straight session of gains. Traders also awaited US inflation data, due on Thursday, as well as the results of the US midterm elections.
US stock futures tumbled today, indicating a lower opening for Wall Street today. S&P futures fell 0.59 per cent, Nasdaq futures dropped 0.69 per cent and Dow Futures moved 0.59 per cent lower.
On the domestic front, Tata Motors, Petronet LNG and Lupin are among the companies expected to report their quarterly results later in the day.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors bought a net of Rs 1,949 crore equities on Monday, while domestic investors sold Rs 844 crore of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange.
Equity benchmarks were closed on Tuesday due to 'Gurunanak Jayanti'.
Here are the share market highlights:
"PSU banks were trading at an inexpensive valuation for a long time. The lower growth capital and legacy NPAs were the reason for underperformance. However, the concern of asset quality and growth are way behind. The large public banks have delivered strong growth and improvement in credit quality. Therefore, PSU banks are likely to perform well in mid-run. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank are top picks in PSU space," said Ajit Kabi, Banking Analyst at LKP Securities.
"Continued FII inflows, combined with a consolidation in the dollar index, boosted market sentiment. A major next trigger could be the US CPI inflation, to be announced tomorrow, consensus indicate a moderation to 7.9 per cent in October compared to 8.2 per cent in September. A fast slowdown in inflation would provide the fuel for the market to edge higher, the key problem of 2022," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
"Nifty remained volatile with a predominant bearishness on Wednesday's trading. On the higher end, the headline index has found resistance around 18,300. The overall trend is expected to remain volatile as long as it remains below 18,300. A decisive move above 18,300 may induce a rally towards 18,600. However, failure to move beyond 18,300 may trigger further profit-taking. On the lower end, support is pegged at 18,000; below which the index may extend its loss towards 17,700," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
The overall market breadth stood slightly negative as 1,730 shares advanced while 1,789 declined on BSE. The market capitalization (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 283.95 lakh crore.
11 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Pharma, Nifty Metal, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Auto underperformed the NSE platform by falling as much as 1.14 per cent, 0.93 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.76 per cent, respectively. On the flipside, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Bank rose 3.93 per cent, 0.26 per cent and 0.23 per cent, each, today.
Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a lower note as Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.74 per cent and small-cap slipped 0.56 per cent.
On the stock-specific front, Hindalco was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 4.74 per cent to close at Rs 416.75. PowerGrid, Divi's Lab, Grasim and Shree Cement were also among the laggards. In contrast, Adani Ports, Coal India, ITC, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's were among the top gainers.
Sensex falls 152 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 61,034, Nifty moves 46 points or 0.25 per cent lower to settle at 18,157
Sensex falls 199 points or 0.33 per cent to trade at 60,986, Nifty moves 60 points or 0.33 per cent lower to trade at 18,143
Fintech firm Angel One, formerly known as Angel Broking Limited, said it registered a 71.5 per cent (YoY) increase in its client base to 11.88 million, with a gross client acquisition of 0.34 million in October this year.
Shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB) rose 8.36 per cent to trade at Rs 45.35. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 46, which is also its 52-week high, today.
Sub-index Nifty PSU Bank surged 3.35 per cent to trade at 3,813.90; while broader Nifty Bank rose 0.27 per cent to trade at 41,797.95.
Sensex down 70 points or 0.12 per cent to trade at 61,115, Nifty moves 24 points or 0.13 per cent lower to trade at 18,179
Shares of Birla Corporation tumbled 5.60 per cent to trade at Rs 950.70. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 948.75 today.
Shares of Bosch jumped 5.60 per cent to trade at Rs 17,383.05. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 17,440 today.
CSB Bank has partnered with global ratings major CRISIL to strengthen its connect with SMEs and to better evaluate the creditworthiness of its existing and potential customers. Shares of the private sector lender fell 1.56 per cent to trade at Rs 224.35 in afternoon deals.
Shares of tyre maker MRF plunged 5.53 per cent to trade at Rs 89,669.75. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 88,732.10 today.
Sensex falls 48 points or 0.08 per cent to trade at 61,137, Nifty moves 7 points or 0.04 per cent down to trade at 18,196; Hindalco, Divi's Lab, PowerGrid, Grasim, Sun Pharma among top drags
Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises climbed 6.85 per cent to trade at Rs 53.05. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 53.65 today.
Shares of Dr. Lal PathLabs plunged 6.84 per cent to trade at Rs 2,445.95. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 2,395.35 today. (Read more)