Closing Bell: Sensex falls 617 pts, Nifty below 22,350; smallcap index down 2%

Benchmark indices ended lower on March 11 with Nifty below 22,350. At close, the Sensex was down 616.75 points or 0.83 percent at 73,502.64, and the Nifty was down 160.80 points or 0.71 percent at 22,332.70.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices/ for all the global market action.

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets started the week with a cut and lost over half a percent amid mixed cues. After the flat start, Nifty inched gradually lower as the session progressed and finally settled around the day’s low at 22,332.65 level. Mostly sectors traded in sync with the move and closed in the red wherein metal, banking and energy were among the top losers. The broader indices traded mixed wherein smallcap shed ~2%.

The intermediate dip in the index after every uptick and underperformance of the broader indices are making traders’ life difficult and we feel it might continue due to mixed trends across the index majors. In the present scenario, traders should avoid aggressive longs and prefer a hedged approach.

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

The Nifty opened on a flat note and as the day progressed the Nifty drifted lower to close the day in the red down ~160 points. On the daily charts we can observe that Nifty has not witnessed follow through buying interest after a decisive breakout. It is witnessing selling pressure at higher levels. This could result in Nifty slipping back into the consolidation zone 22100 – 22600.

The daily Bollinger bands are contracting indicating a range contraction and is likely to result in a range bound price action going ahead. The expectation of trending moves on the upside is fading away in the absence of strength from the key heavyweights of the index. In terms of levels, 22224 – 22167 is the crucial support zone while 22530 – 22600 is the immediate hurdle zone from short term perspective.

Bank Nifty filled the gap created on the 17th January and thereafter has been unable to carry on the positive momentum. On the downside it can slip towards the 46900 – 46800 where support in the form of 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the rise from 45662 – 48161 and the 20-day moving average (46818) is placed.

The Bank Nifty index encountered strong resistance from bears at higher levels, prompting a downside move. Immediate support for the index is at 47000-46800 levels, and a decisive close below this range could intensify selling pressure. To resume the uptrend towards all-time high levels, the index must decisively surpass the mark of 47700.

Nifty has been fluctuating within an ascending channel, displaying a pattern of higher highs and higher lows. The overall trend continues to be bullish, although there is currently an intermediate corrective phase in progress. In the short term, Nifty could experience weakness, possibly leading to a decline toward the range of 22200-22250. Looking at the upside, immediate resistance is identified at 22400 based on closing prices.

After lingering in negative territory for most part of the trading session, markets ended with steep losses after selling intensified towards the fag-end. Weak global cues contributed to the overall weakness as local investors cut their exposure to banking, telecom, power and realty stocks.

The market is in a volatile phase due to uncertainty over global interest rate cut, geo-political tensions and sluggish growth in key economies, which is forcing investors to cash out of their investments at regular intervals.

Continued selloff in global markets due to uncertainty over rate cuts impacted the domestic market sentiment, which is currently at an overbought level. The stronger than expected US nonfarm payroll data and caution ahead of the release of US inflation data tomorrow kept investors on the edge.

The broader market continued its underperformance due to valuation concerns, while investors are rebalancing their portfolios to include safe haven assets like gold.

Indian rupee ended flat at 82.76 per dollar versus previous close of 82.78.

Benchmark indices ended lower on March 11 with Nifty below 22,350.

At close, the Sensex was down 616.75 points or 0.83 percent at 73,502.64, and the Nifty was down 160.80 points or 0.71 percent at 22,332.70. About 1005 shares advanced, 2790 shares declined, and 131 shares unchanged.

Top losers on the Nifty were Tata Consumer Products, Power Grid Corporation, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and SBI, while gainers included Apollo Hospitals, Nestle India, Cipla, SBI Life Insurance.
Bajaj Finserv

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, capital goods, FMCG, oil & gas, bank, Information Technology, realty, metal and power down 0.5-1 percent each.

The BSE mid-cap index shed 0.2 percent and small-cap index fell 2 percent.

-Sell call, target Rs 165 per share
-Vijaipur site lies at the heart of company’s operations
-Management showcased operational & tech capabilities of Vijaipur site in managing HVJ pipeline network
-Company has taken green hydrogen & captive solar power generation initiatives
-Initiatives underscore company’s commitment to its long-term vision for energy transition and net zero by 2040

-Outperform call, target Rs 12,890 per share
-Company likely to benefit from increase in share of CNG & hybrid PV
-Company likely to offset its weaker positioning in electric vehicles
-Stock has underperformed Sensex significantly
-Stock trading at a 23.5x CY25 EPS, below its 10-year average PE multiple

Sensex Today | BSE Information Technology index fell 0.7 percent dragged by Newgen Software, 3i Infotech, Magellanic Cloud

Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.06% on Monday on weak domestic markets. However, a weakness in US Dollar and a decline in crude oil prices cushioned the downside. US Dollar declined on rising expectations of a rate cut by US Federal Reserve in January post the jobs report. Though the non-farm payrolls added more jobs in February than expectations, its downward revision of January 2024 and December 2023 data raised concerns over the jobs markets. Unemployment rate also rose to a 2-year high of 3.9% in February versus forecast of 3.7%.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and concerns that FIIs may sell leading to outflows. Any recovery in US Dollar and any pullback in crude oil prices may also weigh on Rupee. However, any FDI related inflows may support Rupee at lower levels. Any recovery in domestic equities may also support Rupee. Traders may remain cautious ahead of inflation data from India and US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.50 to Rs 83.

RMC Switchgears has announced the expansion of its manufacturing capacity for SMC Smart Metering Enclosures mainly to cater for the rising demand from AMISP (Advanced Metering Infrastructure for Smart Payment) Projects. The enhancement will enlarge RMC's production capacity by additional 300,000 enclosures annually. The projected capital expenditure for this expansion is estimated between Rs. 7-10 crore, which will be funded through the Company’s own reserves and term loans.

-Underperform call, target Rs 150 per share
-Company taking early steps towards energy transition efforts with construction of green hydrogen pilot and commissioning of SSLNG at Vijaipur site
-Progress towards target of blending 20 percent GH2 in transmission vol by 2040 will be keenly watched

Gold prices took a breather from a record-breaking rally on Monday, which was fuelled by a cooling U.S. labour market and remarks from the Federal Reserve, with traders awaiting a key inflation report for fresh clues on the timing of rate cuts.

Spot gold was steady at $2,179.97 per ounce, as of 0731 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also little moved at $2,186.70.

Gold climbed a record peak of $2,194.99 for the fourth straight session on Friday as data signalled to a cooling U.S. labor market.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | TVS Motor Company declares interim dividend of Rs 8 per share.

Sensex Today | Citi On OMCs 

-Government has announced Rs 100/cylinder cut in price of domestic LPG
-Government has brought down cylinder prices by 11% to Rs 803/cylinder in Delhi
-Reckon this could lead to an under-recovery of $100/t for OMCs
-Retain positive view on OMCs
-Would use any meaningful pullback as an enhanced buying opportunity
-BPCL & HPCL are preferred OMC picks, along with ONGC and GAIL
 

-HDFC Life, ICICI Pru Life & SBI Life, grew faster than the 20% RWRP growth of private sector
-Total APE growth for HDFC Life, ICICI Pru Life & SBI Life was also +20 percent
-There could be upside risks to our APE growth estimates
-Cannot rule out lower VNB margin owing to higher acquisition costs & likely higher ULIP mix

Zydus Lifesciences achieved a milestone with a Rs 1 lakh crore market cap, driven by a 60% surge in its shares in 2024. The stock hit a new high of Rs 1,015.70, rising nearly 4% on the BSE in Monday's intraday trade. The company received a favorable EIR report from the USFDA for its Ahmedabad facility, signaling the closure of inspection.

Rakesh Gangwal, a co-founder of IndiGo, sold 22.5 million shares at 3,015.1 rupees each, up from 12.75 million shares initially expected to be offered. It’s the fourth time that Gangwal has sold shares in the company since Sept. 2022, according to the Bloomberg.

Sensex Today | Market at 2 PM

The Sensex was down 349.11 points or 0.47 percent at 73,770.28, and the Nifty was down 88.00 points or 0.39 percent at 22,405.50. About 871 shares advanced, 2544 shares declined, and 109 shares unchanged.

Sampathkumaran S T has been appointed as Executive President- Defence Business of HFCL with effect from March 7 and has been designated as one of the senior management personnel of the company.

Sonata Software has announced the integration of Sonata Harmoni.AI with Microsoft Azure AI service. This integration complements Sonata’s collaboration with Microsoft Fabric and its position as a Microsoft AI Partner Council member.

Sensex Today | BSE Telecom index down 1.5 percent dragged by OnMobile Global, HFCL, ITI

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index fell 1 percent dragged by SBI, Bandhan Bank, HDFC Bank

Sensex Today | Nifty Media index down 2.2 percent dragged by TV18 Broadcast, DB Corp, TV TodayNetwork, 

-Buy call, target cut to Rs 5,890 per share
-Resignation of company’s CFO, alongside other senior-level exits, suggests integration issues
-Company may take longer to realise revenue synergies from the merger
-Cut estimate by 5-9 percent to reflect revenue synergies & expect company to deliver 15 percent EPS CAGR in FY24-26
-Stock has fallen 19 percent YTD
-Think risks are in price as stock trades at 28x, in-line with its 5-year average

Oil prices extended last week's losses on Monday on concern about slow demand in China, although lingering geopolitical risk surrounding the Middle East and Russia limited the decline.

Brent futures fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $81.96 a barrel as at 0723 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.8.

SJVN's subsidiary SJVN Green Energy (SGEL) has signed a power usage agreement (PUA) for 500 MW solar power and a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 100 MW solar power with Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services (RUVITL).

Coal India has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL) for exploring various opportunities for securing power to meet the growing energy demand in Rajasthan. Under this MoU, their focus will be to explore the possibilities to set up 4,100 MW projects through a JV company, across the five identified projects namely pit-head thermal power project, solar projects at solar parks, pumped storage projects, solar projects at existing TPPs and wind projects.

Sensex Today | BSE Healthcare index up 0.5 percent supported by Narayana Hrudayalaya, Gujarat Themis Biosyn, Fortis Healthcare

Bitcoin hit a new record high on Monday above $70,400, as the surge in the biggest cryptocurrency showed no signs of slowing down.

It rose to $70,488.50 in early European trading, LSEG data showed. The cryptocurrency has been boosted by a flood of cash into new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds as well as hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates.

Sensex Today | Market at 1 PM

The Sensex was down 342.41 points or 0.46 percent at 73,776.98, and the Nifty was down 85.50 points or 0.38 percent at 22,408.00. About 903 shares advanced, 2496 shares declined, and 106 shares unchanged.

Ravindra Energy received a Letter of Award from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL), to develop and operate 100 MW(AC) of decentralized feeder level PV solar projects, under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0 (MSKVY) of the Government of Maharashtra. MSEDCL will enter into a 25 years Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the company, and average PPA tariff has been fixed at Rs 3.08 per unit.

Sensex Today | BSE Auto index down 0.5 percent dragged by Samvardhana Motherson International, Bajaj Auto, Apollo Tyres

Entero Healthcare Solutions has recorded 105% on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 6.8 crore for quarter ended December FY24, with revenue increasing 19.7% to Rs 992.6 crore and EBITDA rising 53.8% to Rs 28.6 crore during the same period. EBITDA margin expanded 64 bps YoY to 2.88% in Q3FY24.

Sensex Today | SEBI Chairperson at AMFI Event

In the small and midcap space a lot of companies have seen valuations rise. Some pockets are looking like rerating but some pockets are looking like irrational exhuberance

Sensex Today | BSE Smallcap index fell 1.5 percent dragged by JTL< BCL Industries, Balu Forge Industries

The company has successfully added further capacity of 270 KLPD to the existing bio-fuel ethanol plant at Kashipur, Uttarakhand. Accordingly, the increased capacity of bio-fuel ethanol plant (ethanol to bio-fuel conversion) now stands at 410 KLPD and is fully commissioned.

In the small and midcap space a lot of companies have seen valuations rise. Some pockets are looking like rerating but some pockets are looking like irrational exhuberance.

Promoter group entity Pastel sold 4.9 crore equity shares (equivalent to 0.8% of paid up equity) of Bharti Airtel at an average price of Rs 1,193.7 per share, amounting to Rs 5,849.13 crore.