Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities:
Investors are selling in droves and are simply following the trend in the world equity markets. The raging war between Russia & Ukraine has already made investors jittery about the near-term prospects. With commodity prices on the rise, corporates heavily dependent on commodities would have to battle rising prices and a falling currency, which would impact their operating parameters going ahead.
Technically, post sharp pull-back rally the Nifty took the resistance near 16800 and corrected sharply. It made a couple of attempts to clear the resistance of 16800 but due to constant profit booking at higher levels, it failed.
For the traders, 16350 -16400 would be the immediate resistance level. Above the same, Nifty could move up to 16550 and any further upside could lift the index up to 16700.
On the other side, as long as the index is trading below 16350, the selling pressure is likely to continue. Below which, the correction wave will continue till 16000-15900.
Palak Kothari, Research Associate at Choice Broking:
Technically, Nifty has formed a bearish candle on a weekly time frame which suggests weakness in the counter. Furthermore, index has been trading with lower highs-lower low formation from the last 5 weeks which suggest a southward journey in the upcoming day.
Moreover, the index has been sustaining below 200-DMA which adds weakness in the prices. A momentum indicator Stochastic & MACD suggested negative crossover on the daily chart, which pointed-out further bearishness in the index.
The index can test the physiological level of 16000 breaching below it can show 15800-15700 levels, while upside resistance comes at 16800 levels. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 34000 levels while resistance at 35000 levels.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:
The Nifty had recently stumbled near the level of 16800 & started sliding down. The selling pressure continued on March 04. Consequently, the index breached the swing low of 16203 as well as lower end of a downward sloping channel. The Nifty, however, received support in the lower territory; thus staging an intraday recovery but the intraday bounce fizzled out near the key hourly moving averages.
Nevertheless, the index managed to hold on to the level of 16200 on a closing basis. The overall structure shows that the Nifty is trading near multiple support parameters & it can witness recovery as long as it stays above 16200-16100 on a closing basis.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities:
Nifty slipped lower after a few days of consolidation on the daily timeframe; which will heighten the possibility of falling below the 16000 mark over the short term. Immediate support is seen at 16100-16000 bands. On the higher end resistance seen at 16500.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services:
Global bourses are witnessing a sharp sell-off as reports of Russian attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear plant in Ukraine kept tension levels elevated.
Rising oil prices along with uncertainties on supply change disruption have instilled fears that inflation could cross RBI’s tolerance level, though temporarily. The domestic market, however, trimmed its losses as buying was witnessed in IT and Pharma stocks.
Market Close
Benchmark indices ended lower with Nifty below 16,300 in the volatile session on March 4.
At close, the Sensex is down 768.87 points or 1.40% at 54,333.81, and the Nifty was down 252.60 points or 1.53% at 16,245.40. About 1204 shares have advanced, 2075 shares declined, and 96 shares are unchanged.
Titan Company, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors were among the top Nifty losers. On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and UltraTech Cement were the biggest gainers.
Among sectors, except IT all other indices ended in the red with auto, metals, power, capital goods, realty down over 2-3 percent. BSE midcap index shed 2.3 percent and smallcap index fell 1.6 percent.
BSE Capital Goods index slipped 2 percent dragged by the Carborundum Universal, Graphite India, Schaeffler India
Steel prices jump up to Rs 5,000 per tonne
Domestic steel makers have hiked the prices of hot-rolled coil (HRC) and TMT bars by up to Rs 5,000 per tonne as supply chain is being impacted amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
According to industry sources, the prices have been increased in the past few days and are expected to go up further in the coming weeks with the crisis deepening between the two countries.
After the price revision, a tonne of HRC will cost around Rs 66,000, while the buyers will get TMT bars for about Rs 65,000 per tonne, the sources said on Friday. Read More
BSE Midcap index fell 2 percent dragged by the Vodafone Idea, IRCTC, Jubilant FoodWorks:
KEC International wins new orders of Rs 1,131 crore:
KEC International has secured new orders of Rs 1,131 crore across its various businesses. The Transmission & Distribution business has secured orders for T&D projects in Middle East and Americas. The orders in Middle East include maiden orders secured directly by our EPC subsidiary in UAE.
Railways business has secured order for 2 x 25 kV Overhead Electrification (OHE) and associated works for speed upgradation in India.
The civil business has secured orders in the cement, residential and public spaces segments in India and has added some prestigious clients to its portfolio.
The cables business has secured orders for various types of cables in India and overseas.
KEC International was quoting at Rs 455.55, down Rs 11.00, or 2.36 percent on the BSE.
Market at 3 PM
Benchmark indices were trading lower in the final hour of trading with Nifty below 16300 dragged by metal, auto and realty names.
At 15:00 IST, the Sensex was down 682.13 points or 1.24% at 54,420.55, and the Nifty was down 226.10 points or 1.37% at 16,271.90. About 1171 shares have advanced, 1970 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.
Market at 3 PM
Benchmark indices were trading lower in the final hour of trading with Nifty below 16300 dragged by metal, auto and realty names.
At 15:00 IST, the Sensex was down 682.13 points or 1.24% at 54,420.55, and the Nifty was down 226.10 points or 1.37% at 16,271.90. About 1171 shares have advanced, 1970 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.
GAIL India to consider second interim dividend for FY22 on March 11
A meeting of the board of directors of Gail India is scheduled to be held on Friday, March 11, 2022 to consider the recommendation for payment of 2nd interim dividend for FY 2021-22, company said in its press release.
The trading window shall remain closed for the period from 6th March, 2022 to 13th March, 2022 for designated persons and their immediate relatives for dealing in the securities of the company, it added.
GAIL India was quoting at Rs 156.75, down Rs 2.30, or 1.45 percent on the BSE.
Indian rupee hits 2-1/2-month low:
The Indian rupee weakened past the 76 per dollar mark on Friday to touch its lowest level since mid-December, as the deepening crisis in Ukraine pushed Asian shares toward 16-month lows, with traders watching out for potential central bank intervention.
The partially convertible rupee was trading at 76.16/17 per dollar by 0820 GMT, after touching 76.1750 - its lowest since Dec. 17. The currency had closed at 75.91 on Thursday.
Traders said after the initial fall in the dollar/rupee, importers and banks rushed to purchase the greenback amid the ongoing geopolitical risks.
Geopolitical risks to accelerate merchandise imports, widen current account deficit in near term
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes that the geopolitical risks arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict would push the import bill higher for items such as mineral fuels & oils, gems & jewellery, edible oils and fertilisers as India has significant import dependence on these items. As a result, merchandise imports may cross USD 600 billion in FY22 (10MFY22: USD 492.9 billion). The immediate impact of the conflict on the Indian economy will be felt through inflation, an increase in current account deficit and rupee depreciation. Ind-Ra’s analysis suggests that a USD 5/barrel increase in crude oil prices will translate into an USD 6.6 billion increase in trade/current account deficit. Besides the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka has run into difficulty lately due to a forex crunch.
Most active stocks on NSE in terms of volumes
FADA's caution on car sales as semiconductor supply looks shaky
As Russia and Ukraine are the major suppliers of key components for chips, their conflict could have a negative impact on semiconductor output, said Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Vinkesh Gulati, on a day when the auto body has changed its outlook on vehicle retail sales to 'negative' from 'neutral', owing to fears of supply disruption.
"Now, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the shortage of semiconductors will rise. Ukraine is a big hub for many gases that are used in the process of making semiconductors. Russia too is a critical supplier of Palladium, which is used in chip making," said Vinkesh Gulati, speaking with CNBC-TV18.
The FADA president also hinted the conflict has thrown automakers into the supply-chain crisis, and that these restrictions may halt production and sales of cars in the country at least for some time.
European markets updates
Europe's main stock markets extended losses at the open Friday with Ukraine tensions escalating after Russia took control of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.6 percent to 7,195.64 points. In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX index shed 1.4 percent to 13,507.58 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.2 percent to 6,300.86.
Market Update at 2 PM: Sensex is down 232.26 points or 0.42% at 54870.42, and the Nifty shed 86.70 points or 0.53% at 16411.30.
Eveready Batteries' Chairman, MD resign post open offer from Burman group
Batteries and flashlights maker Eveready Industries India Ltd on Thursday said its Non-Executive Chairman Aditya Khaitan and Managing Director Amritanshu Khaitan have resigned following an open offer from the Burman group.
The Burman group, through various entities had on Monday made a Rs 604.76-crore open offer to acquire around 1.89 crore shares of Eveready Industries, representing 26 per cent of the expanded voting share capital, at a price of Rs 320 per share, payable in cash.
Eveready Industries India was quoting at Rs 357.75, down Rs 3.25, or 0.90 percent on the BSE.
BSE Power index fell 1 percent dragged by the NHPC, Siemens, Adani Transmission
Asia stocks tumble to 16-month lows
Asian equities and the euro slumped on Friday after news of a fire near a Ukraine nuclear facility following fighting with Russian forces heightened investor fears about the escalating conflict and sent oil prices higher.
The risk-off appetite battered markets across the region, with European bourses set for a weak open as Euro Stoxx 50 futures while German DAX futures shed 2.6% and FTSE futures lost 1.4%.
A fire that broke out in a training building near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has since been extinguished, authorities said on Friday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan tumbled as much as 1.6% to 585.5, the lowest level since November 2020, taking the year-to-date losses to 7%.
Stock markets across Asia were in a sea of red, with Japan losing 2.5%, South Korea 1.1%, China 0.8% and Hong Kong 2.5% while commodities-heavy Australia was down 0.6%. S&P 500 futures shed 0.3% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.41%, paring sharp losses from early trading. Overnight, Wall Street ended lower as investors remained on edge over the Ukraine crisis, while rising prices of commodities also weighed on market sentiment.
Market at 1 PM
Indian benchmark indices erased most of the intraday losses but still trading lower with Nifty around 16400.
The Sensex was down 335.41 points or 0.61% at 54767.27, and the Nifty was down 117.10 points or 0.71% at 16380.90. About 1149 shares have advanced, 1911 shares declined, and 114 shares are unchanged.
Sanjiv Kapoor appointed as CEO Of Jet Airways
The Jalan Kalrock Consortium - new promoter of Jet Airways - announced the appointment of Sanjiv Kapoor as the chief executive officer (CEO).
Kapoor, currently president of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, will be joining as CEO of Jet Airways from April 4. Before the Oberoi Group, Kapoor was chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara from 2016 until 2019.
During Sanjiv’s tenure, the airline grew from nine aircraft and 40 flights a day to 38 aircraft and more than 200 flights per day.
Jet Airways was quoting at Rs 81.15, up Rs 3.85, or 4.98 percent on the BSE.
BSE Metal index shed 2 percent dragged by the Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel
Morgan Stanley view on Biocon
Morgan Stanley has kept overweight rating on Biocon with a target at Rs 465 per share.
Expect BBL's post deal net debt of USD 1.5 billion to continue until FY25. EV works out to roughly USD 10 billion with FY24 EBITDA of $500-550 million, said research house.
The value accretion to BBL's sharehlders to depend on biosimilar business execution, it added.
Biocon was quoting at Rs 330.75, down Rs 9.35, or 2.75 percent on the BSE.
EIH to sell Press Unit assets for Rs 94.5 crore
The board of directors of EIH at its meeting held on March 2, 2022 has approved the sale of the assets of the EIH Press unit, located at Manesar, Haryana, subject to necessary approvals, if any, at a sale consideration of approximately Rs 94.50 crore.
EIH was quoting at Rs 130.30, down Rs 2.65, or 1.99 percent on the BSE.
Market at 12 PM
Benchmark indices erased some of the intraday losses but still trading lower with Nifty above 16200.
The Sensex was down 840.29 points or 1.52% at 54262.39, and the Nifty was down 258.30 points or 1.57% at 16239.70. About 981 shares have advanced, 2047 shares declined, and 107 shares are unchanged.
Wockhardt's rights issue to open on March 15:
Wockhardt's rights issue will open on March 15 and close on March 22.
Up to 33.24 million shares will be offered as part of the rights issue, the company's special committee of directors for the rights issue decided at its meeting.
The rights shares will be issued at a price of Rs 225 per fully paid-up share. Eligible investors will receive three shares for every 10 shares held as on the record date.
The firm has fixed March 9 as the record date for rights entitlement in the issue.
The company will raise up to Rs 748 crore assuming full subscription and receipt of all call monies with respect to rights equity shares.
Wockhardt was quoting at Rs 343.05, up Rs 2.05, or 0.60 percent on the BSE.
SJVN secures financing for projects in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
SJVN has achieved financial closure for 210 MW Luhri-1 Hydro Electric Project (Luhri HEP), Himachal Pradesh and 75 MW Parasaran Solar Power Project in Uttar Pradesh.
As per the loan agreement, State Bank of India will provide Rs 1,537 crore at an effective interest rate of 6.90% per annum and Punjab National Bank, Dubai will provide Rs 319.04 crore for Luhri HEP and Parasaran Projects respectively.
SJVN was quoting at Rs 28.65, down Rs 0.35, or 1.21 percent on the BSE.
Nifty50index recovered 100 points from its intraday low of 16,133.80 with Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, HUL down 5 percent each, while Dr Reddy's Laboratories, UPL, ITC gained 1 percent each.
Kunal Jagdale, Founder, BitsAir Exchange:
Bitcoin and other altcoins are showing signs of exhaustion after a strong rally, following a fall in the riskier asset class. The fire in Europe's nuclear power house and Russia increasing strikes on Ukraine is not a good sign.
Rising prices of energy avenues such as crude and natural gas may hurt sentiments further. Crypto donations to Ukraine and Russia's rising interest in cryptos have again brought these assets into the timelight.
Buzzing
Vedanta shares were trading lower by two percent on March 4 in line with market sentiment after Societe Generale sold shares in the billionaire Anil Agarwal-owned company via open market transactions.
France-based financial services company Societe Generale on March 3 sold 2.24 crore shares amounting to 0.6 percent of metal major Vedanta at an average price of Rs 391.74 for nearly Rs 880 crore.
Defence stocks rise as Russia-Ukraine war seen pushing up defence budgets
Shares of defence companies rose on March 4 on the perception that escalating geopolitical tensions could push countries like India to beef up their defence spending in the coming years. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns across countries of further such escalations, especially in fraught geopolitical areas.
India for its part is considered to be in a geopolitical hotspot due to its border tensions with China in the north and fraught relationships with Pakistan in the west. Overall, India’s military expenditure had seen a sharp rise to 2.88 percent of GDP in 2020 due to its escalating tensions with China. Prior to that, the military expenditure as a percentage of GDP had been on a downtrend since 2009.
Analysts have been bullish on the prospects of home-grown defence manufacturers such as Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics and others given that their order books are likely to swell in the coming years.
The Auto index crashed over 3 percent, the top losers included Ashok Leyland, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp and Eicher Motors
Market Update at 11 AM
Sensex is down 1,194.33 points or 2.17% at 53908.35, and the Nifty declined 353.20 points or 2.14% at 16144.80.Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever are the top losers while Tata Steel, Asian Paints and Maruti Suzuki are the most active stocks.
All sectoral indices are trading in the red with auto and realty indices down 3 percent each. The midcap and smallcap indices are down 1.5-2 percent each.
BSE Realty index declined nearly 3 percent draggd by the Godrej Properties, Macrotech Developers, Indiabulls Real Estate
JUST IN | India February Services PMI was at 51.8 against 51.5 and Composite PMI was at 53.5 versus 53, MoM.
JUST IN | Bank Of Russia has reduced fee of brokers to 12% from 13% on forex conversions.
Reserve Bank of India chooses Cloud-Native Intellect Quantum Core Banking Solution
Reserve Bank of India has chosen Intellect to implement the upgraded version of the award-winning Cloud Native Intellect Quantum Core Banking solution to power the next stage of their digital transformation agenda.
Intellect Design Arena was quoting at Rs 657.80, up Rs 1.35, or 0.21 percent on the BSE.
Nifty FMCG index shed 1 percent dragged by the HUL, United Breweries, Varun Beverages
LT Foods to acquire Golden Star Trading
LT Foods announced the acquisition of a 51% stake in Golden Star Trading Inc. along with its brand Golden Star via its subsidiary LT Foods Americas Inc. LTFA) with a call option to further acquire 49% stake at the end of 3 years.
LT Foods was quoting at Rs 67.00, up Rs 1.20, or 1.82 percent on the BSE.
BSE Bankex index fell 1 percent dragged by the Bandhan Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Rupee Opens:
Indian rupee opened 15 paise lower at 76.06 per dollar on Friday versus previous close of 75.91.
“Rupee continued to remain under pressure in the past few sessions primarily as the uncertainty between the two nations escalated and the dollar got support after the Fed Chairman’s testimony wherein he hinted to raise rates in the near future," said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
"We expect the USDINR (Spot) to trade sideways with a positive bias and quote in the range of 75.40 and 76.20,” he added.
SEBI bars PTC India Financial from holding board meet
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has denied permission to PTC India Financial Services (PFS) to hold a board meeting without independent directors, stating that they are not satisfied by the company’s report on actions taken on corporate governance and response to queries on allegations made by former independent directors.
SEBI wrote to PFS, the non-banking financial company subsidiary of PTC India, on March 2, barring the company from holding a board meeting without an Independent Director. This is the second time the regulator has denied the exemption to PFS since all three of its independent directors submitted their resignation citing concerns over lapses in governance and compliance on January 19, ahead of a board meeting that was scheduled for January 22.
Market at 10 AM
Benchmark indices extended the opening losses and trading near day's low point with Nifty below 16300.
The Sensex was down 790.27 points or 1.43% at 54312.41, and the Nifty was down 229.80 points or 1.39% at 16268.20. About 1048 shares have advanced, 1726 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged.
UPL promoters likely to have put the company on the block for family separation: Sources
Sources with direct knowledge told Moneycontrol that promoters of UPL may sell the company to effect a family separation. Cash requirement of promoters for personal matters may drive a sale of UPL, sources suggest. Investment bankers have been hired for the sale process.
UPL in a response to Moneycontrol’s query said, “As a policy, the company does not comment on rumours.”
“Sale will enable division of economic interest between promoters. UPL has launched a buyback process which will also set a benchmark for the valuation of the sale process by the promoters," sources added.
UPL was quoting at Rs 729.90, up Rs 15.15, or 2.12 percent on the BSE.
