The benchmark indices traded with substantial losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below the 22,450 mark after hitting the day's high of 22,620.40 in early trade. Banking stocks declined while consumer durable, media and IT shares advanced. At 13:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 462.94 points or 0.62% to 73,878.60. The Nifty 50 index lost 125.45 points or 0.56% to 22,444.90.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.41%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,047 shares rose and 1,644 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.
Politics:
The second phase of voting, scheduled for April 26, encompasses 89 constituencies across 13 states and Union territories. The BJP seeks a third consecutive term, while the opposition, including the Congress, has united under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc to thwart PM Modi's re-election. The extensive Lok Sabha elections 2024 span seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with the results set to be announced on June 4.
Gainers & Losers:
Tech Mahindra (up 8.31%), LTI Mindtree (up 3.74%), Divi?s Laboratories (up 3.70%), Wipro (up 2.43%) and Bajaj Auto (up 2.35%) were major Nifty gainers.
Bajaj Finance (down 8.18%), Shriram Finance (down 5.47%), bajaj Finserv (down 4.06%), Nestle India (down 2.88%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.90%) were major Nifty losers.
Tech Mahindra surged 8.31% after the IT major's consolidated net profit jumped 29.51% to Rs 661 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 510.4 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 12,871.3 crore in the March quarter, down 1.76% from Rs 13,101.3 crore recorded in the preceding quarter of FY24.
Stocks in Spotlight:
L&T Technology Services declined 7.74%. The company said that its consolidated net profit increased 1.4% to Rs 340.9 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 336.2 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 7.04% to Rs 2,537.5 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024 as compared with Rs 2,370.6 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.
Som Distilleries & Breweries rose 0.06% after the company?s consolidated net profit jumped 17.97% to Rs 18.84 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 15.97 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) jumped 43.27% to Rs 381.59 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 266.34 crore posted in same quarter last year.
Schaeffler India added 2.53% after the company has reported 3.8% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 227.67 crore on a 9.2% increase in net sales to Rs 1,849.22 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.
Zensar Technologies surged 9.17% after the company?s consolidated net profit jumped 7.17% to Rs 173.3 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 161.7 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 1.41% QoQ to Rs 1,229.7 crore in Q4 FY24.
Global Markets:
European shares advanced while Asian stocks declined on Friday after Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy unchanged. Holding its benchmark policy rate at 0%-0.1%
The BOJ now expects inflation between 2.5% and 3% for fiscal 2024, up from 2.2% to 2.5% in its January forecast.
US stocks dropped on Thursday after data showed a sharp slowdown in economic growth and pointed to persistent inflation.
The US economy grew last quarter at the slowest pace in two years as consumer and government spending cooled amid a sharp pickup in inflation. The US gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 1.6% annualized rate in January-March 2024. The economy grew at a 3.4% rate in the fourth quarter.
Inflation surged, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, increasing at a 3.7% rate after rising at 2% in the fourth quarter.
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