Closing Bell: Nifty below 22,000, Sensex down 790 points; mid, smallcaps worst hit

Benchmark indices ended lower on February 28 with Nifty below 22,000 amid selling across the sectors. At close, the Sensex was down 790.34 points or 1.08 percent at 72,304.88, and the Nifty was down 247.10 points or 1.11 percent at 21,951.20.

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.

The Nifty opened on a flat note and traded with a negative bias throughout the day. It closed in the negative down ~247 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty on account of the sharp decline has reached the 20-day moving average (21944). The broad range of 21800 – 22300 still has not been breached. The daily as well as hourly momentum indicators have a negative crossover which is a sell signal, however, prices are still in a range and hence a decisive breach below 21875 i.e. the previous swing low is required to validate the change of trend. The Index is around the crucial support zone 21900 which is likely to act as a make-or-break level from short term perspective.

Bank Nifty has decisively breached the 20- and 40-day moving averages (46125 – 46281) and closed below it which is a sign of weakness. It is very close to its crucial support zone of 45700 – 45675 which coincides with the 61.82% Fibonacci retracement level of the previous rise from 44634 – 47359. Thus, Bank Nifty is also approaching a crucial support zone from short term perspective.

Weak Asian market cues and Dow Futures indicating a negative start triggered massive profit-taking across the board as benchmark Sensex closed below the crucial 73k mark. There will be strong bouts of intra-day volatility going ahead as the wait for interest rate cuts is getting longer, and hence investors are taking selective bets in view of the already stretched valuations.

Indian markets were jittery mirroring weak global markets. Global investors are awaiting the key US economic data like personal consumption expenditure, in anticipation of good forecast there is a fear that Fed rate cut maybe delayed. Turmoil in China's property sector further impacted the Asian market trend. Profit booking weighed on Indian markets, fuelled by concerns about India's Q3 GDP growth potentially slowing to 6.6% from 7.6% in Q2. Rate-sensitive sectors faced pressure, contributing to broader market underperformance, led by FIIs selling.

The rupee traded sideways at 82.91, down by 0.02. It fluctuated within the range of 82.88-82.96 as market participants remained cautious. The US dollar strengthened above 104$, exerting slight pressure on the rupee to stay below 82.85. Additionally, a 1-1.50% correction in the capital markets increased risk sentiment. For the week, the rupee's broad range is expected to be between 82.75-83.05.

Nifty underwent a sharp correction during the day amid a strong sell-off. The index dropped below the 22,000 mark, indicating a growing weakness. Nevertheless, it managed to close just above the 21EMA on the daily timeframe. Observing the daily chart, the index has been navigating within a rising channel. A decline below 21,950 could potentially trigger a correction towards 21,800 in the near term. Conversely, a sustained trade above 21,950 might spur a recovery in the index towards 22,100.

Bears pulled Bank Nifty below 46,000 as the bulls were unable to shield the index from dropping below 46,500. Wednesday's selling pressure has pushed the index below the crucial short-term moving average as well. The sentiment appears negative, with the index potentially moving towards 45,700/45,300 in the near term. Resistance is positioned at 46,100.

Rangebound activity comes to an end in today's trade as bears dominated the session which resulted in compounding of losses by the Index. Selling pressure intensified in the 2nd half of the trading session and the Index breached the 22,000 mark as well to end the session at 21,951.15 with a loss of 247.20 points.

All the sectors ended in red with Media and PSU Banking being the major laggards. A steep fall in the Broader markets dented the market sentiments as Mid and Smallcaps corrected by 1.94% & 1.87% respectively.

With a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern, Nifty50 has finally breached its congestion zone on the downside which indicates a change of short-term to negative, and now the immediate support is placed at 21,820 while the higher side is capped at 22,100.

Indian rupee ended marginally lower at 82.93 per dollar on Wednesday versus Tuesday's close of 82.90.

: Benchmark indices ended lower on February 28 with Nifty below 22,000 amid selling across the sectors.

At close, the Sensex was down 790.34 points or 1.08 percent at 72,304.88, and the Nifty was down 247.10 points or 1.11 percent at 21,951.20. About 664 shares advanced, 2627 shares declined, and 65 shares unchanged.

Biggest losers on the Nifty included Power Grid Corporation, Apollo Hospitals, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, while gainers were HUL, Infosys, TCS and Bharti Airtel.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, oil & gas, power and realty down 2 percent each.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell 2 percent each.

-Buy call, target Rs 1,200 per share
-Company is well-placed to deliver 17% CAGR in premium over FY24-26
-Company well-placed to deliver 17% CAGR as it leverages on ramp-up of agency and has closer integration with Axis Bank
-Dy MD of Axis Bank now is chairman at Max Life & 3 board members on Max Life are from Axis
-Clarity on norms on surrender charges are key
-Balanced view from regulator will likely abate concerns
-See healthy VNB CAGR of 18% between FY24-26 & valuations at 1.6x FY25 P/EV are at discount to peers

The dollar firmed up on Wednesday as markets awaited a raft of global inflation data for clues on when central banks may start easing policy, while the New Zealand dollar tumbled after its central bank trimmed its forecast for a peak in rates.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six others including the euro, was last up 0.3% at 104.20, having risen 2.8% year-to-date.

-Underweight call, target Rs 132 per share
-Company approved a preferential allotment of warrants
-Warrants amounts to Rs 457 crore, nearly 14% of December 2023 equity & 4.5% of total assets
-Brookfield asset management will be allotted 13.95mn warrants for Rs2.57bn
-Company intends to use capital to accelerate growth in its core markets
-Await more clarity from management

Policy to be put in place by Mutual Funds to protect the interest of investors of Small-cap and Mid-Cap Schemes: AMFI

A. In the context of the froth building up in the small and mid-cap segments of the market and the continuing flows in the small and mid-cap schemes of Mutual Funds, Trustee, in consultation with Unitholder Protection Committees of the AMCs, shall ensure that a policy is put in place to protect the interest of all investors. The policy shall contain the following;

i) Appropriate and proactive measures to be taken by AMCs and Fund Managers protect investors, including but not limited to moderating inflows, portfolio rebalancing, etc.
ii) Steps to ensure that investors are protected from the first mover advantage redeeming investors.

B.The policy shall be approved by Trustees and disclosed on each AMCs' website, within 2 days of this email.

Sensex Today | Market at 3 PM

The Sensex was down 618.80 points or 0.85 percent at 72,476.42, and the Nifty was down 205.30 points or 0.92 percent at 21,993.00. About 698 shares advanced, 2593 shares declined, and 53 shares unchanged.

Bitcoin surged for a fifth day on Wednesday to near $60,000, buoyed by flows into new U.S. spot bitcoin exchange traded products that have driven it up 39.7% in February, which would mark its largest monthly rally since December 2020.

Bitcoin was last up 4.4% at $59,259, its highest since December 2021, while ether rose 2.2% to $3,320, having hit another two-year high.

-Vodafone Idea’s board approved a potential fund raise of nearly USD 5.5 billion
-The fund raise includes equity/equity-linked instruments of nearly USD 2.4 billion
-If the fund raise closes, see current market structure continuing near-term
-Increasing conviction on industry being in repair phase with potential increase in tariffs

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has incorporated its wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Green which will engage in the business of value-chains of energy business namely renewable energy, bio-fuels/ bio-gas business, green hydrogen and its derivatives like green ammonia, green methanol, storage, carbon capture utilisation and storage and LNG business.

The short-term outlook for crude oil is looking weak with talks of Israel and Hamas agreeing for temporary ceasefire during the month of Ramzan could pull back WTI prices towards support of $74-$72. The demand from US and China had remained soft during the first two months and expect trend to continue in March as well, while on supply side OPEC and its allies, and the group is widely expected to agree to prolong reductions into the second quarter to buttress the market. WTI is holding 3.5% gains for the month, and roughly 10% for the ytd.

Outlook: For the day if we see large build-up in commercial reserves along with product inventories, expect prices to test the support of $75, however the risk in the Red sea will still be providing support to oil prices to bounce toward $79.50.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering said the board of directors has approved the raising of funds up to Rs 150 crore via issuance of convertible warrants by way of preferential issue to promoter(s) / promoter group / other(s).

Citibank NA, acting as the depository, has issued a Notice of Termination to the holders of global depository receipts (GDRs) of Finolex Cables. The termination of the GDR program will become effective on April 15, 2024 and post termination date, the GDRs will be delisted from Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Sensex Today | Market at 2 PM

The Sensex was down 508.69 points or 0.70 percent at 72,586.53, and the Nifty was down 170.90 points or 0.77 percent at 22,027.40. About 616 shares advanced, 2646 shares declined, and 61 shares unchanged.

Aether Industries has appointed James W Ringer as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with effect from March 1, 2024. Ringer has already been working with Aether for the last 3 years as business development / technology leader (Americas).

Salasar Techno Engineering has entered into an agreement with ZETWERK Businesses for supply of 25,000 MT of solar structures worth Rs 200 crore. The contract is expected to get completed within 12 months.

The Rs 429-crore public issue of Exicom Tele-Systems was subscribed 16.03 times on February 28, the second day of bidding. The IPO received a total of 29.22 crore bids as against an issue size of 1.82 crore shares.

At the forefront were retail investors, garnering almost 44 times their allotted quota, while non-institutional investors mopped up 30.35 times the portion reserved for them. Qualified institutional buyers of QIBs also subscribed to the issue, picking up 1.15 times their portion. Read More

Sensex Today | BSE Bank index shed 0.7 percent dragged by IDFC First Bank, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank

-Buy call, target Rs 1,300 per share
-Analysis of TRAI data suggests that Bharti Hexacom is favorably placed as its markets have historically grown 3-5% faster versus rest of India and their lower teledensity offers longer growth runway
-Bharti Hexacom may see higher market gains given Bharti's superior execution & VIL's weak positioning
-Translation of tariff hikes into ARPU has been better here (17% ARPU CAGR versus 12% CAGR in ROI)

Capital Small Finance Bank has recorded net profit at Rs 28.93 crore for quarter ended December FY24, rising 2.4% over a year-ago period, partly supported by other income and lower bad loans provisions. Net interest income grew by 1.3% year-on-year to Rs 87.44 crore for the quarter. Asset quality weakened with the gross non-performing assets (NPA) rising 24 bps QoQ to 2.97% and net NPA increasing 17 bps to 1.53% in Q3FY24.

GE T&D India has secured orders worth Rs 370 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India for supply of 765 kV Shunt Reactors for various transmission system projects in India. These projects aim to facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the national electricity grid and enhance electricity transmission within the country, including Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Tanla India’s CPaaS provider has extended an exclusive partnership with Truecaller for business messaging. The partnership aims to help enterprises connect with their end-users and offer highly customized solutions, including rich media and engaging content.

-Buy call, target Rs 1,900 per share
-Management indicated that multiple initiatives and completion of tech rollout should lift growth
-Management expects company to inch up in Q4
-Company has hiked lending rates by 25 bps w.e.f. March to cushion NIMs
-Focus is also on lifting mix of core lower ATS housing loans to boost yields
-Management expects opex intensity to ease over next few years and lift returns

JM Financial maintained sell rating on IOCL (revised Target Price of Rs 145) and HPCL (revised Target Price of Rs 440) and HOLD rating on BPCL (revised Target Price of Rs 565).

Sensex Today | BSE Telecom index down 2.5 percent dragged by Vodafone Idea, HFCL, GTL Infra

Remsons Industries said the board has approved sub-division of one equity share of the company having face value of Rs 10 each into five equity shares having face value of Rs 2 each. This is subject to approval of the members of the company.

DreamFolks Services (DFS) shares surged 7.3 percent on February 28 after domestic brokerage firm Motilal Oswal initiated coverage on the airport services aggregator with a "buy" call.

The brokerage has a target price of Rs 650 on the share, an upside of 34 percent from the current market price.

DFS has more than a 75 percent volume market share in domestic airport lounges and is the only player with 100 percent coverage of airport lounges, the report said. Read More

Torrent Power has emerged as the successful bidder and has received Letter of Intent from PFC Consulting for establishment of inter-state transmission scheme "transmission system for evacuation of power from renewable power projects in Solapur (1,500 MW) SEZ in Maharashtra. The project has been conceived to evacuate renewable energy with a capacity of 1,500 MW from Solapur and entails the setting up of a transmission line of 44 kms from existing Solapur substation of Power Grid Corporation to Solapur substation (to be established by Torrent Power). In due course, PFC consulting will transfer the project SPV to Torrent Power.

Gold prices steadied on Wednesday, as lower U.S. Treasury yields partially offset a firmer dollar, while traders awaited key inflation data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials this week to gauge when the central bank is likely to cut rates.

Spot gold held its ground at $2,030.12 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,039.40 per ounce.

Sensex Today | Market at 1 PM

The Sensex was down 680.96 points or 0.93 percent at 72,414.26, and the Nifty was down 217.30 points or 0.98 percent at 21,981.00. About 711 shares advanced, 2529 shares declined, and 63 shares unchanged.

Piramal Pharma said a fine of 1,82,001 euro imposed on its step-down subsidiary Piramal Critical Care B V (PCC BV) by the Audiencia Nacional, Spain. PCC BV is contemplating filing an appeal against the Audiencia’s judgment before the Supreme Court in Spain. The fine levied on PCC BV does not have any material impact on financials, operation or other activities of the company.

Sensex Today | Nifty PSU Bank index shed 2 percent dragged by Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Canara Bank

Bajaj Healthcare entered a definitive CDMO agreement with esteemed UK/EU based customers for the supply of 15 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (APIs).

The Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises has approved to further expand and strengthen the role of the ‘Independent Advisory Committee’ by including ‘Investigation Assessment’ as a primary responsibility of this committee; and to amend the nomenclature of the committee from “An Independent Advisory Committee” to ‘An Independent Investigation Committee”.

Sensex Today | Nifty Auto Index fell 1.4 percent dragged by Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Sona BLW Precision Forgings

On Tuesday afternoon, a tragic incident was reported at a construction site in the Kirandul Complex of NMDC wherein 4 lives were lost due to the collapse of rock formations on the hillside. An unpredictable collapse of strata from a 15 meter high and 70 meter length rock fom1ation landed on the workers on the construction site at Screening Plant III.

L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL), a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has completed the sale of its entire stake in Interise Investment Managers (IIML), a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T IDPL. Consequently, IIML has ceased to be a subsidiary of L&T IDPL and the company.

Sensex Today | BSE Oil & Gas index slipped 1.7 percent dragged by HPCL, Adani Total Gas, IOC

Pitti Engineering reported robust revenue growth in Q3FY24, while EBITDA/tonne fell only marginally on a YoY basis. The company anticipates growing order inquiries from the European market, especially in wind and power segments, with strong order visibility in India's wind and energy markets.

The Company aims to improve its EBITDA/tonne and overall profitability. The strategic move into the auto segment positions Pitti Engineering well, potentially enhancing its top-line growth potential. However, broking house lower its estimates on the back of relatively lower-than-expected revenue and profit growth for 9MFY24.

The current P/E multiple for the stock is 33.0x/23.3x on revised FY24E/FY25E earnings, respectively. Based on FY26E EPS of Rs 46.7, we apply a 22.0x multiple (20.0x previously) to arrive at a raised target price of Rs 1,027 (previously: Rs 985).

The increased multiple reflects the company’s improving margin profile on the back of increased demand in the European market, particularly for value-added products.

Broking house positive on the company’s prospects, given its widening portfolio of products, foray in the automotive segment and presence in high growth sectors of the economy. With a 28.7% upside from current levels, maintain 'Buy' rating on the shares of Pitti Engineering.

Sensex Today | BSE Smallcap index fell 1.6 percent dragged by Sigachi Industries, Everest Kanto Cylinder, Bliss GVS Pharma

Ahluwalia Contracts had executed Common Wealth Games Village Project awarded by Emaar MGF Construction Pvt. Ltd. The certain grievances had arisen between parties which resulted into invocation of Arbitration proceedings by the company.

Both parties had filed application for mutual settlement before the presiding Arbitration. The tribunal has passed consent award in terms of settlement between the parties in favour of Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd.

Shares of Mazagon Dock jumped more than 5 percent intraday on February 28 amid high volumes even as the benchmark indices traded in the red.

33 lakh shares of the company had changed hands on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) combined, much higher than the one-week and one-month daily average trading volume of 2 lakh and 9 lakh shares.

In the last one year, the multibagger stock has risen over 200 percent, tripling investors' money. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty gained 27 percent during this period. Read More

Sensex Today | Market at 12 PM

The Sensex was down 481.01 points or 0.66 percent at 72,614.21, and the Nifty was down 159.40 points or 0.72 percent at 22,038.90. About 669 shares advanced, 2550 shares declined, and 61 shares unchanged.

Tata Elxsi and Telefónica implemented cloud-native infrastructure management powered by ETSI Open-Source MANO (ETSI OSM). These advancements mark a new phase in the evolution of telco cloud technologies and signify a commitment to driving digital transformation across the telecommunications industry.

Indiabulls Housing Finance approved the public issue of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures of face value of Rs 1,000 each for an amount up to Rs 100 crore with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs 100 crores, aggregating up to Rs 200 crore.

The Supreme Court's observation of "misleading advertisements" over some of the products sold by Patanjali Ayurved will not affect the business of Patanjali Foods, which is a separate listed entity, the Ramdev-led company clarified.

The apex court bench issued a show-cause notice to Patanjali Ayurved, co-founded by yoga guru Ramdev, and managing director Balakrishna for going back on their promise to not make "misleading claims" in advertisements for its medicines. The observations do not have any beating on the regular- business operations or the financial performance of Patanjali Foods.

Sensex Today | BSE Midcap index shed 1 percent dragged by Vodafone Idea, Zee Entertainment, IDBI Bank

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index down 0.7 percent dragged by IDFC First Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bandhan Bank

Despite lower subscription demand in the bidding process, Juniper Hotels listed above everyone’s expectations which can be attributed to brand “Hyatt” which is a well-known global brand and too big to ignore. Considering the sector demand and focus on India tourism along with the primary objective of reducing the debt, which could lighten the interest burden and can improve the bottom line in the coming years.

With its established brand and strategically located assets, the company is well-positioned to capitalise on emerging hospitality trends. The hotel sector is expected to outperform in the coming years. Hence allotted investors can hold and add more at lower levels which can reward them in the medium to long term.

Record date for buyback is February 29
Today is the last day to participate in buyback
Buyback price is Rs 10000

Mining conglomerate Vedanta is aiming to reduce its standalone debt by $3 billion over the next three years, an investor presentation released after an analyst meeting on February 27 said. As of December 31, 2023, the company's net debt stood at Rs 62,493 crore (around $8 billion). READ MORE

Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd announced that its board of directors has approved the raising of Rs 150 crore fund from the promoter group and a non-promoter entity. The fund will be raised through a preferential issue of convertible warrants to group companies, subject to approval, it said. READ MORE

Vodafone Idea is likely to go for a combination of follow-on public offer (FPO) and preferential allotment to promoter for its Rs 20,000-crore equity fundraise, reported CNBC-TV18 on February 28 quoting sources. Aditya Birla Group’s promoter entity may infuse funds through preferential allotment of shares, reported the channel. READ MORE

After shares of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of Indigo, flew over 70 percent in the past one year, analysts expect gains to moderate in the near term as the airline operator battles Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine woes, declining pax (passenger) yields, and seasonally weak quarter. READ MORE

Titan Company has acquired balance 1,19,489 equity shares (which is 0.36% of paid up equity) held by the individual shareholders of CaratLane Trading in CaratLane, for Rs 60.08 crore. The company currently holds 99.64% of the total equity share capital of CaratLane.

Promoter ICICI Bank bought 69,82,852 equity shares (equivalent to 1.4% of paid up equity) in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company at an average price of Rs 1,666.35 per share, valuing at Rs 1,163.6 crore. However, Bharti Enterprises offloaded 62,50,900 equity shares (1.3% of paid up equity) in the company at an average price of Rs 1,666.35 per share. Bharti Enterprises held 3.7% stake in ICICI Lombard as of December 2023.

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Munish Sharda as Executive Director of Axis Bank for three years with effect from February 27. The board of directors of the bank in October last year had approved the appointment of Munish Sharda as a Whole-time Director, designated as Executive Director.

Gold prices steadied on Wednesday, as lower U.S. Treasury yields partially offset a firmer dollar, while traders awaited key inflation data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials this week to gauge when the central bank is likely to cut rates.

Spot gold held its ground at $2,030.57 per ounce, as of 0355 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,039.70 per ounce.