Closing Bell: Nifty slips below 17,200, Sensex tanks 897 pts; all sectors in the red

Prashanth Tapse, Research Analyst, Sr VP Research at Mehta Equities

Neither bear nor Bulls, Indian markets are stuck in the hands of kangaroos. In a kangaroo kind of market mood, the market changes value and “bounce up and down” over a period without any stable rising or declining trends. If this continues, technically the fall could extend its slide down toward the 17000 mark and any close below 17000 we can see 16800 levels.

Looking at the market mood, there are few factors resulting from the selloff with low to no positive triggers in Indian markets, global uncertainty in banking sector after SVB issues and El Nino effect for 2023 which could raise concern over rural demand and Nifty earnings.

As per market reports, El Nino, whenever it has occurred, has left a considerable impact on rains in India, leading to below normal rainfall across the country. The probability has been set at a fairly high level approximately 55-60% and it’s expected to set in between June-December 2023 as per market reports and this stands true, there would be drought like situations too due to the phenomenon leading to crop loss, resulting in rising food prices and inflation again.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services:

Domestic indices witnessed renewed selling pressure on account of issues within the US banking space. Nifty opened positive but soon came under intense selling pressure to close with loss of 257 points (-1.5) at 17156 levels. All sectors ended in red with banking and auto facing the major burnt, down 2% each.

India Vix jumped sharply by 19% to 16 levels, indicating heightened volatility. Emerging uncertainty around several mid and small size (Silvergate Bank, Sillicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank) have created nervousness among global investors about the health of the US banking sector.

Expect elevated volatility until clarity emerges on the potential extend of the crisis. The US Fed’s emergency meeting to control the damage would be crucial for the markets. Apart from this release of India and US inflation data along with ECB meeting during the week would be keenly watch.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets started the week on a feeble note and lost nearly one and a half percent, in continuation to the prevailing trend. After the initial uptick, the Nifty index gradually drifted lower as the day progressed and finally settled at 17,154.30 levels. The selling pressure was widespread wherein banking, auto and IT majors were beaten down badly. The broader indices too plunged sharply lower and lost nearly 2% each.

The move shows that participants are not comfortable, citing the US banking crisis and reducing positions, ignoring the news of the bailout. Banking and financials were acting as saviors earlier but the tone has changed completely now, which is further adding to their worries. We reiterate our negative view and eyeing the 17,000 level as immediate support in Nifty. Traders should align their positions accordingly.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Bloodbath was seen in the global market as the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank was followed by turmoil at Signature Bank, keeping investors worried about the strength of the US banking system.

Importantly, the Fed’s decision in the upcoming meeting will have a crucial impact on the market sell-off, as the consensus is reversing to no rate hike trajectory. Also, the US inflation due on Tuesday will have a vital impact in the short-term as the market anticipates a cool down from January levels.

Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities

Indian rupee becomes the worst performer among Asian currencies on the back of worsening risk appetite, fall in bond yields and foreign funds outflows.

In the short term, spot USDINR is expected to consolidate between 81.70 to 83.

Rupee Close:

Indian rupee ended lower at 82.12 per dollar against previous close of 82.04.

Market Close:

Benchmark indices ended lower in the third consecutive session on March 13 with Nifty below 17,200

At close, the Sensex was down 897.28 points or 1.52% at 58,237.85, andNifty 50 was down 258.60 points or 1.49% at 17,154.30. About 768 shares advanced, 2745 shares declined, and 144 shares unchanged.

IndusInd Bank, SBI, Tata Motors, M&M and Eicher Motors were among the major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were Tech Mahindra and Apollo Hospitals.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red.

The BSE midcap index shed 1.8 percent and smallcap index fell 2 percent.

Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

Indian Rupee strengthened on Monday on weak US Dollar index amid collapse of three banks in the US. Rupee touched a high of 81.6775 in early trades in the spot markets trcking weakness in the greenback. However, the domestic currency lost early gains on weakness in the domestic equity markets. Dollar also declined on Friday on softer than expected labour market data which led to expectations that Fed may go slower in its pace of rate hike.

We expect Rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets amid and fresh FII outflows. However, weak dollar and declining US Treasury yields may prevent sharp fall in Rupee.
Traders may remain cautious ahead of inflation data from India and US. We may see some recovery if the banking crisis in the US is contained. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 81.50 to Rs 82.80.

Jefferies View On IndusInd Bank

-Buy rating, target at Rs 1,550 per share
-RBI extended term for CEO by twoyears versus three years as approved by board
-This may reflect on RBI's desire to see improved internal controls, funding & underwriting
-See this as reasonable time to demonstrate progress
-This may mean slight pullback on growth (trim EPS slightly) & defer re-rating
-Valuations are attractive at 1.4 timesFY24 Price to Book

IndusInd Bank was quoting at Rs 1,060.50, down Rs 85.00, or 7.42 percent.

Nifty Bank index shed 2 percent dragged by IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, PNB, SBI

Citi View On Tech Mahindra:

-Neutral rating, target at Rs 1,120 per share
-Appoints Mohit Joshi as CEO
-In near-term, expect a favourable stock price reaction
-Real test of performance will start next calender year once Mohit Joshi assumes CEO role
-Industry view is cautious in a tough macro
-Company has room to improve margin in medium-term; positions it better than peers
-Market will again focus on pace of turnaround, which can potentially take time

Dynacons Systems & Solutions wins Rs 27 crore-order for supply & maintenance of Apple Ipads

Dynacons Systems & Solutionshas won order worth Rs 26.99 crore for supply of Apple iPad from Mumbai High Court. The scope includes the supply, installation & integration of Apple iPads at 2,400 Judicial officers all over Maharashtra.

Dynacons Systems and Solutions was quoting at Rs 348.00, down Rs 0.80, or 0.23 percent.

Praveen Singh – AVP, Fundamental currencies and Commodities analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

Gold, currently up nearly 1% at USD 1886, continues to rally on falling US yields as the market participants are sceptical about the possibility of US Federal Reserve hiking rates in March. Fiasco at Silicon Valley Bank, Silver Gate and Signature banks has spurred demand for safe haven instruments like treasuries, gold and Yen.

We think that, as situation looks contained with marginalized credit contagion risk, rate hike will happen in March, too, though of 25 bps. A hike of 50 bps doesn't look probable. The US NFP report was quite decent as the headline figure at 311k topped the forecast of 205k, though wage growth disappointed.

Gold is likely to trade between $1862 and $1900.

Citi View On IndusInd Bank

Sumit Pokharna, Research Analyst, Vice President, Kotak Securities

TechM has many building blocks in place namely scale, reasonable breadth of capabilities, leadership in the telecom vertical and a good presence in manufacturing. It can do with better discipline in deal pursuits, execution and a higher emphasis on build over buy decisions.

We believe Margin improvement and its sustainability is the key to re-rating, going forward. We are bullish on Tech Mahindra and believes that the stock trades at inexpensive valuations. Long term investors can buy the stock with a target price of Rs 1,240.

Rupee Updates

Indian rupee erased all the intraday gains and trading lower at 82.14 per dollar against previous close of 82.04.

Market at 3 PM

Benchmark indices extended the losses and trading at day's low point.

The Sensex was down 959.54 points or 1.62% at 58,175.59, and the Nifty was down 274.90 points or 1.58% at 17,138. About 630 shares have advanced, 2740 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.

Godrej Industries to raise Rs 1,000 crore via NCDs

Godrej Industries' board members have given their approval for issuance 1 lakh non-convertible debentures with face value of Rs 1 lakh each, amounting to Rs 1,000 crore on private placement basis.

Godrej Industries was quoting at Rs 416.55, down Rs 5or 1.19 percent on the BSE.

Steel Authority of India to consider interim dividend on March 16

Steel Authority of India's board on March 16 will consider an interim dividend for the financial year 2022-23.

Steel Authority of India was quoting at Rs 87.16, down Rs 0.92, or 1.04 percent.

India VIX up 20 percent

BSE Smallcap

Promoter Vineet Agarwal buys additional 2.65% stake in TCI Express

Promoter Vineet Agarwal has bought additional 2.65 percentstake in TCI Express through off-market transactions on March 9. With this, Agarwal's shareholding in the company has increased to 5.24 percent, from 2.59 percentearlier.

TCI Express was quoting at Rs 1,544.20, down Rs 10.20, or 0.66 percent.

Dow Future up Marginally

BSE Capital Goods index down 2 percent dragged by Sona BLW, Schaeffler India, BHEL

Mallcom India signs MoU with Gujarat government for project worth Rs 108.22 crore

Mallcom (India) Ltd entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat to set up the manufacturing facility for Protech PU Gloves, Protech NBR gloves, safety helmet, safety eyewear (PPE) with an estimated project cost of Rs 108.22 crore at Sanand-II Industrial Estate, Gujarat, subject to such approvals and clearances, as may be required, the company said in an exchange filing.

European Markets Updates

Market at 2 PM

Benchmark indices were trading at day's low with Nifty around 17,200.

The Sensex was down 729.74 points or 1.23% at 58,405.39, and the Nifty was down 200.70 points or 1.15% at 17,212.20. About 761 shares advanced, 2560 shares declined, and 121 shares unchanged.

BSE 500

Aster DM Healthcare arm Aster Pharmacies Group LLC incorporates JV in Riyadh

Aster DM Healthcare subsidiary Aster Pharmacies Group LLC has incorporated joint venture, Aster Arabia Trading Company LLC in Riyadh, KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

Aster Arabia Trading Company LLC will operate pharmacy chain across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to sell pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products within each pharmacy under Aster Pharmacy brand. Aster Pharmacies Group LLC has acquired 48.995 percentstake in Aster Arabia Trading Company LLC.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd was quoting at Rs 231.70, up Rs 0.55, or 0.24 percent on the BSE.

Nifty falls below February low of 17,255

Embassy Office Parks REIT commits over Rs 300 crore towards investments in green initiatives

Embassy Office Parks REIT has committed over Rs 300 crore to its ESG program across its 43.6 msf pan-India portfolio.

During its flagship ‘ESG Occupier Connect’ forum held on March 10, attended by over 200 key occupiers and strategic partners, Embassy REIT commissioned the first phase of its 20 MW solar rooftop project. This project, one of Asia’s largest, aims to generate 30 million units of solar power, offsetting around 25,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Embassy Office Parks REIT was quoting at Rs 301.40, down Rs 3.05, or 1.00 percent on the BSE.

GMDC emerges as highest bidder for 2 coal mines in Odisha

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) had emerged as the highest bidder for two coal mines in Odisha in the recently concluded commercial coal block auction by the Ministry of Coal, Government of India, the company said.

GMDC has won the bids for Odisha’s Burapahar Block in Sundargarh District, having a Geological Reserve of 548 million tonnes and Baitarani (West) Block in Angul District a geological reserve of 1152 million tonnes.

Fitch revises Tata Chemicals outlook to positive from stable

Rating agency Fitch has revised the outlook on Tata Chemicals’ long-term foreign-currency issuer default to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’and has affirmed ratingat ‘BB+', as perBloomberg.

MC A10 index rose thanks to gains in energy portfolio. Cement stocks were biggest drags during the day.

Government of India appoints Nikunj Kumar Srivastava as nominee director on MOIL board

Government of India has appointed Nikunj Kumar Srivastava as nominee director on MOIL board from Madhya Pradesh government, with immediate effect till March 6, 2024. Accordingly, Sukhveer Singh ceases to be director on the board.

MOIL was quoting at Rs 151.10, down Rs 2.35, or 1.53 percent.

RBI grants 2-year extension to Sumant Kathpalia as MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank

Reserve Bank of India has conveyed its approval for re-appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officerof IndusInd Bank for a further period of two years with effect from March 24, 2023.

Crude prices rise slightly on China recovery, weaker dollar

Oil prices ticked up in Monday's Asian trade, reversing a weak start as a recovery in Chinese demand and a weaker dollar provided support to a market rattled by the prospect possible further U.S. interest rate increases.

After initially slipping in early trading, Brent crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.30%, to $83.03 per barrel by 0700 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) ticked up by 23 cents, or 0.30%, to $76.91 a barrel.

Nomura View On Tech Mahindra 

-Buy rating, target price at Rs 1,260 per share
-Mohit Joshi, ex-head of BFSI vertical of Infosys, appointed as CEO designate
-Joshi was head of global financial services & healthcare & software business for 22 years at Infosys
-Do not expect any immediate strategy change announcement on new CEO’s joining

Tech Mahindra was quoting at Rs 1,142.10, up Rs 81.00, or 7.63 percent on the BSE.

Tech Mahindra gains more than 9%, best day in nearly 7 years

Intellect Design launches eMACH.ai, an AI-powered platform

Intellect Design Arena launched eMACH.ai, a revolutionary cloud-native and future-ready open finance platform with embedded artificial intelligence, powered by AWS. With 285 pre-built microservices available on the cloud, and access to 1,214 APIs and 200 events, eMACH.ai enables financial institutions to design the future of banks and FIs.

Intellect Design Arena was quoting at Rs 431.25, up Rs 2.30, or 0.54 percent.

USFDA auditing Torrent Pharmaceuticals' Indrad oncology block: Sources

The United StatesFood and Drug Administration (US FDA) is auditing Torrent Pharmaceuticals' Indrad oncology block today, CNBC-TV18 reported citing sources.

US FDA audit is expected to be a pre-approval inspection at the oncology block, it added.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals was quoting at Rs 1,506.75, down Rs 4.70, or 0.31 percent.

Morgan Stanley View On IT sector

Tech Mahindra has selected Mohit Joshi of Infosys as its managing director and chief executive officer from December. Morgan Stanley sees this development as a material event for Tech Mahindra but for Infosys, the departure could be negative in the near term, it believes.

The comes at a time when investors were focussed on management transition of Tech Mahindra as a key event.

India VIX up 7 percent

ALERT | HSBC holding Plc announces that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank plc, is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK limited (SVB UK) for £1.

BSE Smallcap index fell 1 percent dragged by GRM Overseas, Xelpmoc Design, Mahindra CIE