Sensex, Nifty open lower; Adani Enterprises tanks 15%; Nykaa jumps 6%

Indian equity markets opened lower on Thursday amid the weak global cues from Asian peers. US stocks had also settled lower after hawkish tone of the US Fed officials. Some more bad news for Adani Group weighed on trader's sentiments at Dalal street.

With major economic event left behind, stocks are likely to react on quarterly earnings by India Inc. Other than this, constant selling from the global investors in denting the market sentiments.

At 9.20 am, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex was trading 46.5 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 60,617.28. Similarly, Nifty50 was seen at 17,834.50, dropping 37.20 points, or 0.21 per cent. Broader market was trading higher as BSE midcap and smallcap indices were in green at open. Fear gauge India VIX rose slightly to 13.69-level.

Barring Nifty IT and Pharma index, all other sectors were trading in red. Nifty metal index was down more than a per cent, whereas Nifty auto index was also down more than half a per cent. FMCG, media and PSU Banks were also significantly down.

Adani Group stocks were again in the limelight amid the negative news flow from MSCI and Total Gas. Adani Enterprises plunged 15 per cent, hitting its initial circuit limit, whereas Adani Ports was down 8 per cent. Ambuja Cements, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission were down 5 per cent each. ACC shed 4 per cent.

Other than Adani Group stocks, Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Ultratech Cement led the losers in the Nifty50 pack. On the contrary, SBI Life, Divis Labs, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were up a per cent each in the early trade.

RBI’s projection of GDP growth for FY 24 is encouraging and good news for equity markets. If these projections materialize India Inc’s earnings for FY24 will not be impacted and Nifty EPS of around 1,100 would be achievable. This means Nifty is now trading at below 18 times FY24 earnings, good enough to attract investment, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, the unabated selling by FIIs - selling in 24 trading days and buying in only 3 trading days in the cash market so far in 2024 - will act as a major restraint on any potential breakout rally. For a sustained rally in the market, the FII strategy has to change," he said.

In the broader markets, Everest Kanto tanked 9 per cent after poor performance in the December 2022 quarter. Manali Petrochem and Restaurants Brands Asia was down 8 per cent each after Q3 earnings.

Bucking the weaker trend, Cummins India soared over 8 per cent after strong quarterly performance. Venky's India jumped 7 per cent amid strong outlook and demand for eggs. Trent jumped 6 per cent, whereas Action Construction and Nureca advanced 5 per cent each.

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