Closing Bell: Sensex ends in the red, Nifty above 17,500; realty, power stocks top losers

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

The benchmark Nifty remained volatile on the last day of February's F&O expiry. During the day, Nifty managed to hold above the morning low of 17455. Going ahead, the low of 17455 is likely to act as immediate support for the falling Nifty. A decisive fall below 17450 may trigger the resumption of the fall. In that case, it may fall down towards 17200–17150. However, failure to break down may induce a recovery towards 17750–17850, where the upper band of the falling channel lies.

Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

The BANK NIFTY index after 5 days of brutal selling witnessed some buying from the lower level and formed a long-legged doji candle. The index if it manages to hold today's low can witness a recovery towards 40,500 levels. The index immediate hurdle is at 40,200 above which can witness a short covering move. The index downside support stands at 39,500 and if breached will aggravate the selling pressure.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

The equity market traded cautiously between gains and losses as the minutes of the central bank policy meeting revealed concerns over high inflation and its commitment to bring inflation under control. In response to the heightened fears of rate hikes, the US 10 yr treasury yield continued to stay high, near 4%. Additionally, the dollar index rose as the greenback cheered over hawkish Fed comments and rising geopolitical tensions.

Rupee at close | Rupee ends at 82.73/$ against Wednesday’s close of 82.85/$

Markets at close

Sensex closed 139.18 points lower at 59,605.80. Nifty closed 43 points lower at 17,511.30. About 1570 shares advanced, 1776 shares declined, and 152 shares were unchanged.

Mahindra Lifespaces | Arvind Subramanian resigns as MD & CEO; Amit Kumar Sinha appointed MD & CEO from May 23

SCI confirms receiving MCA order for demerger of non-core assets

Infosys collaborates with Microsoft to accelerate industry adoption of cloud

Zee files an appeal in NCLAT, seeking relief against NCLT order; stock off day's low

-Taking all necessary steps as per law, to protect interests of all stakeholders
-Taking all necessary steps to achieve timely completion of Sony merger
-Firmly believe that merger will deliver immense value to all stakeholders

Sources on Spicejet | Carlyle likely to convert its $100 million debt into a 5% stake in the airline

-Carlyle to likely convert its dues into CCDs in Spicexpress
-If Spicejet board agrees on debt conversion, Spicexpress will be valued at over $1 bn
-Carlyle converting its debt into equity will help Spicejet reduce debt

Source: CNBC-TV18

ITC slips slightly after touching all-time high of Rs 394

European Markets Updates

Prabhudas Lilladher on Zee Entertainment Enterprises

After admission of insolvency proceedings by NCLT, the stock price has corrected by around 10% as ongoing arbitration issue can delay the merger time-line with Sony Pictures Networks India. The next NCLT hearing is due on March 9, 2023 and unless Zee settles the dispute amicably or achieves a stay on the order, merger time-line can get delayed further.

We retain Buy on the stock with a target of Rs 277 (21x Sep-24 EPS). However, given there are concerns over delay in merger time-line (primary premise of our buy call) the stock can be under pressure in near term.

Market update at 2 PM

Sensex was up 94.71 points or 0.16% at 59,839.69, and the Nifty gained 23.70 points or 0.14% at 17,578.

JPMorgan On TVS Motor Company

-Overweight rating, target raised to Rs 1,330 per share
-Electrification is turning out to be market share growth opportunity for TVS
-Raise valuation multiple to 27x
-Estimate company to potentially cross 20% market share by end of decade

MapmyIndia unveils Mappls Gadgets for cars and two-wheelers including GPS Trackers, Dash Cameras, In-dash Navitainment Systems and Smart Helmet Kits

-Launches the most technologically advanced line of cutting-edge Vehicle Trackers and In-dash Infotainment Systems for the safest and most convenient driving experience
-Introduces first-of-its-kind Navisor for 2-wheelers, providing navigation cues on the rider’s helmet in their peripheral vision
-Offers 4G-connectivity-enabled Dash Cameras (CarEye) for real-time video monitoring and live tracking of your car and loved ones directly through the Mappls App

NSE gets the final Sebi approval to launch Social Stock Exchange

Banking Stocks Off Lows

Markets at 1 PM

Sensex is down 2.45 points at 59,742.53, and the Nifty is down 4.60 points or 0.03% at 17,549.70. About 1438 shares have advanced, 1695 shares declined, and 135 shares are unchanged.

L&T Tech and Qualcomm selected by Thales for enabling 5G private networks in Urban Railways

Godrej Properties large trade

5.76 lakh sharesor0.21% stake exchanged hands at an average price of Rs 1,092.55 apiece.

Total deal value at Rs 62.84 crore.

Habil F Khorakiwala, Wockhardt

On CNBC-TV18

-WCK 5222 hasgone into phase 3 clinical trials which will be over in 15-18 months

-By Mid-2025, WCK 5222 will beapproved and ready for global markets

- WCK 5222 has a value proposition of $1.5 billion as per Grant Thronton Analysis

-Will need an additional $30 million to complete global phase-3 trials

-Intend to monetisenon-performing assets

-Have some mfg facilities that co can look to monetise

One year since Ukraine Russia war: Foreign investors had been on a selling spree in Indian equities since October 2021, which accelerated as the war progressed

CLSA on GAIL

-Buy rating, target raised to Rs 125 per share
-Factoring-in a 40% tariff hike, upgrade FY24-25 EPS by 14%
-GAIL proposed an integrated tariff encompassing most key gas transmission pipelines
-GAIL's proposed tariff would imply a 70% hike from FY22 blended tariff
-Believe tariff could rise by over 50%
-Final announcement is likely anytime from mid-march

Venu Nair, Shoppers Stop

OnCNBC-TV18
-Opened 9 department stores & 11 beauty outlets so far this year
-Aim is to open 10-15 beauty outlets every year apart from 10-12 department stores
-We have entered the distribution of beauty brands
-More recent brand we've signed is NARS, which we will bring to India
-Signed 8 fragrance brands of L'oreal international, which have been launched in India

Rohan Mehta, CEO & Portfolio Manager, Turtle Wealth

As per NSEdata, 38 lakh clients have left stock Market in the last 6 months. The volumes have dropped more than 50 percent! This is a clear signal of people losing hope in markets, the quote of buy in fear and sell in greed should be tweaked to buy when people loose hope and sell when people are too optimistic.

We are now at the 16th month of consolidation in a range of NIFTY 50 or NIFTY 500, the index remains at the same level, but the broader markets is widely wounded.

Samir Dhir, Sonata Software on Quant Systems acquisition

On CNBC-TV18

-Market trends are still quite optimistic
-Quant is a growth acquisition for company, largest acquisition for Sonata to date
-Quant gives us an entry into banking & financial, healthcare services
-Will get an entry into 2 Fortune500 companies as clients
-Bullish about what Quant can bring in terms of topline growth
-Funding for acquisition done via cash & cash accruals, will take some short-term loans
-Will repay any short-termloans of 1-2 years soon
-Quant will be a marginaccretive acquisition

Deep Industries gets LoA from ONGC for project worth approximately Rs 106 crore

MC A10 Index, a sentimeter of Adani Group stocks slipped nearly 2 percent dragged by fall in stock prices of its energy portfolio

Kaya acquires 100% stake in Kaya Skin Care Clinic

Kaya Middle East FZE, the step-down subsidiary of Kaya Limited acquired a 100 percent equity stake in Kaya Skin Care Clinic - Sole Proprietorship LLC, a company operating clinics in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Pursuant
to the recent changes in regulations which have liberalized foreign ownership, foreign companies can now have 100% ownership in the UAE, Kaya said in a BSE filing.

Market update at 11 AM

Sensex is up 18.27 points or 0.03% at 59,763.25, and the Nifty is up 10 points or 0.06% at 17,564.30

Thomas Cook (India) partners with Pine Labs to enable UPI payments to merchants for foreign nationals from G20 nations

Zee admitted to insolvency, stock falls most in two years on merger delay concerns

Siddharth Mishra, Bharat Dynamics Says:

On CNBC-TV18
-Order inflow year-to-date is at Rs 4,500 cr
-Expect order for 3rd & 4th regiment of AkashMissile Systems either in Q4FY23 or Q1FY24
_Signed 3 major MoUs atthe Aero Show 2023
-Will start manufacturing for the 3 major MoUs received
-Current order book is at Rs 13,900 crore, have current export orders worth $320 mn
-Expect more than 10%revenue growth in FY23
-Have Rs 3,800 crore revenue target for FY24
-Target more than 20% margin

Finance Ministry January Economic Review

-Global inflation likely to moderate gradually over the year
-Global inflation will remain higher than pre-pandemic levels
-There is a likelihood of India's exports showing tepid growth
-Headline inflation showing a downward trend despite Jan CPI at 6.5%
-Record wheat, rice, pulses production to help keep food prices in check
-Overall demand conditions remain conducive to supporting economic activity
-6.5% growth for FY24 has more downside than upside risks
-Predictions of a return of El Nino conditions could presage a weaker monsoon
-Weaker monsoon could result in lower output, higher prices

Market Update

Sensex is up 127.45 points or 0.21% at 59,872.43, and the Nifty is up 38.90 points or 0.22% at 17,593.20. About 1466 shares have advanced, 1382 shares declined, and 127 shares are unchanged.

HotelKey announces partnership with RateGain Travel Technologies

HotelKey, the leading cloud-based property management platform for hotels, announced a partnership with RateGain Travel Technologies to integrate RateGain’s global distribution, central reservations, and pricing capabilities into HotelKey’s PMS platform.

The integration will roll out across HotelKey’s portfolio of more than 4,000 properties, with hundreds of properties already accessing the combined capabilities.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services

The market which has been trading within the range of 17750 -18150 has taken a turn for the worse by breaking the lower band decisively. Yesterday’s sharp cut of 927 points on the Sensex was caused by a combination of factors: weak US cues, the continuing rout in Adani stocks and concerns of the Adani crisis impacting the banking system.

The US/global factor stems from concerns that the Fed will have to raise interest rates perhaps by 25bp thrice to weaken the economy and contain inflation. FOMC minutes reveal the fact that some have even argued for a 50 bp rate hike. This is the biggest near-term negative for equity markets globally. The situation can change if the disinflation trend in the US accelerates.

The fact that Bank Nifty is down by 7% this year indicates the fears of the market regarding the impact of the Adani crisis on the banking system and also the concerns that the margins of the banks will be impacted by the rising deposit rates. Investors may wait for the current turbulence to settle before taking a view. Of course, for long-term investors, corrections are opportunities to slowly accumulate high quality stocks. Stocks remaining firm amidst the sharp correction like Bajaj Auto, ITC and Divi’s Labs indicate buying interest.

Gold Prices Today: Volatility on cards after Fed minutes as investors eye US economic data

Orient Cement shares fall

Shares of Orient Cement fell in the early trade on February 23 after Adani Power Maharashtra (APML) terminated a non-binding deal with it.

Adani Power Maharashtra (APML) has requested Orient Cement not to pursue the venture further as they are not able to obtain the required MIDC clearances for sub-leasing the land parcel required for the Cement Grinding Unit (CGU) due to some legal issues, the company said in a press release.

Also, the timelines as agreed upon according to the memorandum of understanding have crossed, it added.

BSE realty index sheds 1 percent dragged by Prestige Estate, Indiabulls Real Estate, Macrotech Developers

Tata Steel acquires 4.68 lakh shares of subsidiary for Rs 300 crore

Tata Steel has acquired 4,68,75,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 54 per share, of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), an unlisted indirect subsidiary of the company, for an amount aggregating to Rs 300 crore, being Tranche 1 of the investment in the equity shares of NINL.

Nifty Metal index up 0.6 percent led by Coal India, Tata Steel, JSW Steel