Despite some upbeat earnings updates, and positive lead from Asian and European markets, key Indian stock indices Sensex and the Nifty ended on a weak note on Friday as a sell-off in the final hour wiped off their gains and pushed the market down into the red.
Selling was so broadbased that all the sectoral indices dropped into negative territory towards close. Media, automobile, bank and realty stocks were among the major losers. Technology and FMCG stocks drifted down as well.
The benchmark BSE Sensex, which was up nearly 450 points at 57,975.48 at one stage this afternoon, ended the session with a loss of 460.19 points or 0.8% at 57,060.87, after touching a low of 56,902.30.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty settled at 17,102.55, losing 142.50 points or 0.83%. The index scaled a high of 17,377.65 and a low of 17,053.25 intraday.
Axis Bank plunged more than 6.5% despite reporting a sharp jump in earnings and a drop in NPAs. The bank reported a net profit of Rs 4,118 crore for the quarter ended March 2022, up 54% over a net profit of Rs 2,677 crore it had posted in the corresponding quarter last year.
Maruti Suzuki ended nearly 2% down despite reporting a 58% surge in quarterly net profit.
Power Grid Corporation ended 3.4% down. Wipro shed about 2.6% ahead of results.Larsen & Toubro ended 1.3% down.
State Bank of India, Titan Industries and NTPC lost 1.9 to 2.1%. HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Tata Consultancy Services ended lower by 0.9 to 1.25%.
Vedanta’s consolidated net profit dropped 9.84% to Rs 5,799 crore in the January – March 2022 quarter, compared to a year ago. The stock ended lower by about 0.8%.
Shriram Transport Finance gained nearly 5% after the company reported a 44% surge in net profit at Rs 1,086.13 crore in the fourth quarter, compared to a year ago.
Piramal Enterprises Ltd shares climbed to Rs 2,232.40 after the company announced that it is planning to raise up to Rs 700 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures on private placement basis. However, the stock pared gains subsequently and ended just 0.66% up at Rs 2,160.00.
UltraTech Cements Limited shares edged up marginally. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1,478 crore, down 18.5% from a year ago.
Mphasis Limited shares surged higher after the company reported a 9.6% jump in net profit for the quarter ended March 2022 over the year-ago quarter.
The market breadth was weak. Out of 3,508 stocks traded on BSE, 2,117 stocks closed weak. 1259 stocks moved higher and 132 stocks settled flat.
Market Analysis
Sensex, Nifty Pare Gains And Close Weak As Stocks Slide In The Final Hour
2022-04-29 10:53:53
