Share Market updates: Sensex falls 89 points, Nifty ends below 17,250; Kotak Bank, Titan, HDFC Bank top losers

Good afternoon!

Benchmark indices were trading lower in afternoon session today. Sensex declined 90 points to 57,594 and Nifty falls 23 points to 17,221.

Indian market ended lower on Wednesday after investors booked profit amid concerns over inflation and supply constraints. Despite a strong start, the 30-share index fell 304.48 points to close at 57,684.82. During the day, it tanked 420.71 points or 0.72 per cent to 57,568.59.

Nifty dipped 69.85 points or 0.4 per cent to finish at 17,245.65.

What's next? Here are the latest updates.

3:30 pm: Market ends in the red

Sensex falls 89 points to 57,595 and Nifty closed 23 points lower at 17,222.

3:10 pm: Jindal Steel stock hits 52 week high

Shares of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) hit a fresh 52-week high today amid reports that that MSCI was likely to include the firm in its standard index. Edelweiss Alternative & Quantitative Research in its latest report said MSCI could add five stocks and remove two stocks from its Standard Index.

Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Elxsi, Voltas, Varun Beverages and Astral were likely to be added in the MSCI Standard Index.

2:15 pm: Indian market pares losses. Sensex down 90 points to 57,594 and Nifty falls 23 points to 17,221.

1:50 PM: Maruti Suzuki appoints Hisashi Takeuchi as MD, CEO

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has appointed Hisashi Takeuchi as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in place of Kenichi Ayukawa, the company informed on Thursday.  The appointment is with effect from April, 2022 and will last for three years till March 31, 2025.

Kenichi Ayukawa will continue as a Whole-time Director, designated as Executive Vice-Chairman till September 30, 2022 to facilitate a smooth transition, the company said. READ MORE

1:30 PM:  I-T raid continues for 2nd day at premises of Hero MotoCorp, Chairman Pawan Munjal

Income Tax officials continue their search at various premises of Hero MotoCorp and Chairman and MD Pawan Munjal. Various financial documents have reportedly been found and are being analysed. Electronic and digital data is also being analysed. Searches continue at locations in Delhi and Gurugram.

Offices of Hero MotoCorp and Pawan Munjal, as well as his residence, were being searched on allegations of tax evasion. Commenting on the searches, the company said on Wednesday that these were routine searches that usually take place before a financial year. READ MORE

1:10 pm: Market check

Sensex falls 261 points to 57,423 and Nifty loses 65 points to 17,180.

12:57 PM: Ruchi Soya will be debt-free by April, 2022: Ramdev

Ayurveda major Patanjali Group owned Ruchi Soya Industries will become debt-free by next month. The company that currently has some Rs 3,300 crore of debt from commercial lenders will repay the entire amount in April, said Baba Ramdev.

Through its Further Public Offer (FPO), the company is aiming to raise Rs 4,300 crore starting today. It has raised Rs 1,290 crore from institutional investors that includes fund houses like Kotak and UTI and Aditya Birla Sunlife Trustee, among others. According to Ramdev, the proceed will be used to repay Ruchi Soya's debt apart from using it for the company's expansion. READ MORE

12:54 pm: Market cap of BSE-listed firms stands at Rs 260.07 lakh crore. Market breadth is negative with 1,494 shares rising against 1,775 stocks falling on BSE. 141 shares are unchanged.

12:41 pm: Sensex losers

Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan, HDFC are the top Sensex losers, falling up to 3.20% in the afternoon session.

12:36 pm: Sensex gainers

Dr Reddy's, Ultratech Cement, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma are the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.88%. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 18 are trading in the red.

12:26 pm: Market update

Sensex falls 329 points to 57,355 and Nifty loses 88 points to 17,157.

11:45 am: Nelco shares hit upper circuit in early trade, here's why

Shares of Tata Group company, Nelco zoomed 5% to hit an intraday high of Rs 678.60 after the company announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Omnispace to enable and distribute 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN), direct-to-device satellite services. The collaborative effort will expand the reach of 5G using satellite communication throughout India and South Asia.

11:15 am: Why Zee Entertainment stock rose 20% in early trade

Stock of Zee Entertainment zoomed 20 per cent in early trade today after shareholder Invesco Developing Markets Fund said that it would not pursue the EGM requisition dated September 11, 2021.

The investor also said it has decided to withdraw its requisition notice that sought the removal of MD and CEO Punit Goenka from the board of ZEE.

The announcement comes after the Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed an appeal filed by Invesco against a single-judge order granting interim injunction on holding an EGM of Zee Entertainment.

Invesco also reiterated its support for the Zee-Sony Pictures Networks India merger as currently proposed. Zee Entertainment share rallied 20 per cent to Rs 307.25 against the previous close of Rs 256.05 on BSE. The large cap stock opened with a gain of 10 per cent at Rs 281.65 today.

Read: Why Zee Entertainment stock rose 20% in early trade

10:30 am: TCS share buyback subscribed 7.5 times on final day 

The share buyback of India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services was subscribed more than 7.5 times on Wednesday - the last day for offering the shares.

Investors tendered 30.12 crore shares in the Rs 18,000-crore buyback, which started on March 9, against the company's offer of four crore shares.

 The strong interest in the buyback came as the offer price of  Rs 4,500 was 21% above the current stock price. Shares of TCS closed at Rs 3,712.40 on Wednesday.

The ratio of buyback was 1 equity share for every 7 equity shares held on the record date in the reserved category for small shareholders. For general category shareholders, the buyback ratio was 1 for every 108 shares held.

Read: TCS share buyback subscribed 7.5 times on final day 

10:00 am: Hero MotoCorp shares tank 2% despite clarifying on I-T department searches  

Shares of two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp declined 2 per cent in early trade to hit an intraday low of Rs 2,340 despite clarifying on the I-T raids at the premises of its Chairman, MD and CEO Pawan Munjal and other senior officials.

The stock opened a tad lower at Rs 2350.05 against the previous close of Rs 2395.40 on BSE. 

“Officials from the Income Tax Department visited two of our offices in Delhi and Gurugram and the residence of our Chairman and CEO Pawan Munjal on Wednesday. We have been informed that this is a routine inquiry, which is not uncommon before the end of the financial year," the company said.

"We, at Hero MotoCorp, are an ethical and law-abiding corporate and maintain the highest standards of impeccable corporate governance. In keeping with this philosophy, we are extending our full cooperation to the authorities."

9:16 am: Market opening

Equity benchmark Sensex opened over 375 points lower at 57,309.67 and Nifty fell over 121 points to 17,124.00.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top loser on Sensex, declining over 4 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki and HDFC Bank.

Tata Steel and TCS were the top gainers.

9:00 am: Pre-market comment by Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities

Benchmark Indices are expected to open on a negative note as trends on SGX nifty indicates a  gap down opening with 102 points loss.

Asian shares fall as Ukraine war stokes inflation fears while the sell off in US Treasuries paused and oil prices rose. Commodities whipsawed in a market beset with concerns about inflation and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Also, Japan Nikkei fell by more than 1% on Thursday morning, after touching a two month high in the previous session. The dollar held gains, while commodity-linked currencies firmed.

Oil resumed its advance to trade above $115 a barrel as the U.S. readies more sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday. Gold extended gains as investors sought safe-havens.

Crucial support for Nifty 50 is 16,800 while Nifty may face some resistance at 17,400.

8:40 am: Global Updates

Wall Street pushed stocks and Treasury yields down on Wednesday after both had powered higher earlier in the week as investors took in the strength of the economy and hawkish comments from US policymakers.

Two-year US Treasury yields have risen sharply so far in March and were set for their biggest monthly jump since 2004. Investors have been relatively sanguine about the implications of higher yields on stock market valuations, with many choosing to buy back in after a bruising few months for equity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 448.96 points, or 1.29%, to 34,358.5; the S&P 500 lost 55.41 points, or 1.23%, to 4,456.2; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 186.21 points, or 1.32%, to 13,922.60.

Chinese shares slipped, following other markets in Asia-Pacific on Thursday, as oil prices jumped around 5% on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.08% in early trade.

The Shanghai composite declined 0.78% while the Shenzhen component shed 1.166%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan declined 1.4%, shedding some of its 3% jump from Wednesday. The Topix index fell 1.21%.

8:35 am: FII and DII action

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 481.33 crore on March 23, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 294.23 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.

8:30 am: SGX Nifty

The Indian equity market is likely to open lower today as SGX Nifty was trading 50 points lower at 17,205.50.

The Singapore Stock Exchange is considered to be the first indication of the opening of the Indian market.

8:15 am: Market on Wednesday

Benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday after investors booked profit amid concerns over inflation and supply constraints. Despite a strong start, the 30-share index fell 304.48 points to close at 57,684.82. During the day, it tanked 420.71 points or 0.72 per cent to 57,568.59.

Nifty dipped 69.85 points or 0.4 per cent to finish at 17,245.65.

HDFC was the top Sensex loser, falling 2.36 per cent followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Asian Paints.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Tata Steel, ITC and Power Grid were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 2.31%.

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 17 ended lower.