Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close Lower As Banks, IT Stocks Drag; FPIs Turn Net Buyers

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Tuesday.

Foreign portfolio investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,602.2 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors turned net sellers and sold equities worth Rs 1,959 crore, the NSE data showed.

India received the highest-ever foreign portfolio inflows in 2023 and surpassed emerging market peers amid global volatility and valuation concerns.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.21% on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency weakened 8 paise to close at 83.32 against the U.S dollar on Tuesday.

• It closed at 83.24 on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg

Benchmark indices closed lower today due to losses in information technology and banking stocks.

The Nifty 50 closed below 21,700 for the first time in the last three sessions and the Sensex closed below 72,000 after four sessions. Nifty 50 ended at 21,665.80, down 76.10 points or 0.35% while Sensex lost 379.46 points or 0.53% to end at 71,892.48.

"A bearish candle has emerged on the daily Nifty chart, indicating a potential bearish trend in the near future," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities adding that the sentiment is expected to stay bearish as long as it remains below 21750. "Any upward movement toward 21750 could encounter selling pressure. However, a clear breakout above 21750 could shift sentiment in favor of the bulls. Support is established at 21500 on the lower end."

On Bank Nifty, Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities said, "To resume the upward trend and regain positive momentum, the index needs to achieve a breakout above the resistance at 48300, targeting levels of 49000/50000."

He added, "The immediate support for the index is positioned at 47600, coinciding with its 20-day moving average (20DMA). A decisive breach below this level could intensify the downward momentum."

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. contributed the most to the decline.

Those of Reliance Industries Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Coal India Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and ITC Ltd., cushioned today's fall.

Sectoral indices were mixed at closing with Nifty Pharma ending more than 2% higher. Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty, and Nifty IT ended over 1% lower.

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Smallcap Index fell 0.02%, whereas S&P BSE MidCap Index was 0.08% lower. Around 14 out of 20 sectors compiled by BSE  declined, while six advanced. S&P BSE Capital Goods and Auto sectors declined the most among sectoral indices.

The market breadth was split between buyers and sellers. About 1,991 stocks advanced, 1812 declined, and 126 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd's scrip rose as much as 3.34% on Tuesday as it said to the exchanges, its cargo volumes grew 42% on year to 35.65 MMT in December 2023.

The company's annual cargo volume grew 23% on an annualised basis to 311 MMT in nine months of FY24.

Scrips of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd rose as much as 3.34% to Rs 1,082.90 apiece, the highest level since Dec 20, 2023. It was trading 3.16% higher at Rs 1,080.95 apiece, as of 2:55 p.m. This compares to a 0.35% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 5.32% on a year-to-date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.6 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 70.15, which implied the stock is overbought.

Out of 21 analysts tracking the company, 19 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an downside of 8.1%.

• 13.2 lakh shares changed hands in a large trade

• 0.02% equity changed hands at Rs 394.6 apiece

• Buyers and sellers not known immediately

Source: Bloomberg

Income Tax demand cut to Rs 141 crore from Rs 300 crore

Alert: Co had received I-T demand worth `300 cr in Oct 2023 for AY 2019-2020

Source: Exchange Filing

• Vietnam bank renews partnership with Intellect Global Consumer Banking (iGCB) for banking transformation

• Bank to use iGCB’s eMACH.ai-based core banking platform IDC to modernise banking ops

Alert: iGCB is the consumer banking platform of co

Source: Exchange Filing

• Handled 311 MMT cargo in Dec, up 23% YoY

• 10 ports delivered highest-ever cargo volumes

• Targets over 400 MMT of cargo volumes in FY24

• Mundra Port alone managed ~5.5 MTEUs in initial nine months

• Logistics rail volumes grew 22% & GPWIS volumes grew 47% YoY, on YTD basis

Source: Exchange Filing

Alok Industries Ltd surged 20% on Tuesday after its 55.4 lakh shares changed hands in large trades.

The company's 0.1% equity hanged hands at Rs 25.1 apiece. Buyers and sellers are not known immediately.

Shares of Mankind Pharma jumped over 9% to hit its highest level since listing. The stock has jumped 100% from its IPO price.

Shares of the company were listed at Rs 1,300 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a premium of 20.37% over its IPO price of Rs 1,080 apiece.

• OTP Bank renews partnership with Intellect Global Consumer Banking (iGCB) for banking transformation

• OTP bank to use iGCB’s eMACH.ai-based core banking platform IDC

Alert: OTP Bank is one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe

Source: Exchange Filing

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd fell nearly 6% today after ending 6.25% higher on Monday after the company clarified it is not in any discussion with to tie up with Starlink.

GST Order from Tamil Nadu GST Authority includes penalty and interest.

Source: Exchange Filing

India's benchmark indices continued to trade lower through midday on Tuesday, tracking a decline in the IT and financial services sectors.

As of 12:06 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.73%, or 532.58 points, lower at 71,747.16, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 0.59%, or 128.40 points, to 21,611.35.

Intraday, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.91% to 71,613.74, and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.86% to 21,555.65.

"Technically, both the indices hit a new record of 21834.35/72561.91 after a slow start but corrected sharply due to sustained profit-booking at higher levels. We believe that the current market structure is volatile, and on the intraday chart, the index has formed a reversal," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.

"Intraday formations indicate that the weak sentiment is likely to continue as long as the indices are trading below 21850/72600. If the index trades below that level, the market can touch the level of 21600–21500/71900–71500 again. On the other hand, if it trades above 21850/72600, the index may rise to 21900-22000/72750-73000," he said.

ICICI Bank Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, and Reliance Industries weighed on the Nifty 50.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Coal India Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, and Divis Laboratories Ltd. supported the index.

On NSE, 11 sectors out of 12 were trading in red, with the Nifty Auto and Nifty IT emerging as the top loser among sectoral indices. Both the sectors declined 1.61% each.

Nifty Pharma rose 1.92% to be the top gainer among sectoral indices and the only sector to gain.

Broader market declined in line with the benchmark indices, with the S&P BSE Mdicap falling 0.57%, and BSE Smallcap trading 0.48% lower through midday on Tuesday.

Around 17 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while three advanced. BSE Auto sector declined the most.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the sellers. Around 2,127 stocks fell, 1,526 stocks rose, and 125 remained unchanged on BSE.

• 10.5 lakh shares changed hands in a large trade

• 0.4% equity changed hands at Rs 809.6 apiece

• Buyers and sellers not known immediately

Source: Bloomberg

- To invest up to Rs 2.66 cr in AMP-6 for acquisition of ~6.07% stake

- To invest up to Rs 3.99 cr in AMP-8 for acquisition of ~9.93% stake in

Alert: AMP-6, AMP-8 are special purpose entities formed for setting up captive solar power projects in Karnataka

Source: Exchange Filing

Shares of Mahindra Logistics was trading 5.29% higher at Rs 412.10 apiece, compared to 0.63% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 as of 11:55 a.m. The stock rose as much as 5.95% to Rs 414.70 apiece, the highest jump since Dec 08, 2023

Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 3.6 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 69.74

Out of 15 analysts tracking the company, 8 maintain a 'buy' rating, four have a 'hold' and 3 suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an downside of 3.5%.

Shares of NMDC jumped 3.6% to hit their highest level since 2010 after the company revised prices of lump ore and fines effective today.

An exchange filing by the company said lump ore prices have been revised to Rs 5,600/ton from Rs 5,400/ton and fines prices to Rs 4,910/ton from Rs 4,660/ton.

Shares of Alembic Pharma jumped more than 7% today to hit its highest level since November 30. The company on Monday disclosed a summary statement giving brief of all product approvals received during the quarter ended 31st December.

"Alembic has a cumulative total of 196 ANDA approvals-- 170 final approvals and 26 tentative approvals-- from USFDA, an exchange filing by the company said.

Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd surged to fresh high as Motilal Oswal in a report said it believes the company is set to benefit significantly from the sectoral tailwinds and emerge as a larger and stronger player.

• Lemon Tree Hotels up 9.35% at Rs 129.7

• Sun Pharma Advanced Research up 8.23% at Rs. 332.4

• Alembic Pharmaceuticals up 5.5% at Rs. 804.85

• Mankind Pharma up 5.16% at Rs. 2086.5

• Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals up 4.96% at Rs. 2050

• Macrotech developers down 4.1% at Rs 1008

• NLC India down 3.76% at Rs. 240.3

• Teamlease services down 3.75% at Rs. 3129.2

• Ultratech cement down by 3.19% at Rs.10132.1

• 360 one wam down by 3.29% at Rs. 679.35

• Increases Lump Ore prices to Rs 5,600/ton from Rs 5,400/ton

• Increases fines prices to Rs 4,910/ton from Rs 4,660/ton

• Prices are effective from today, i.e. Jan 2, 2024

Source: Exchange Filing

• Eicher, Maruti, M&M, Escorts disappoint

• Dec prints soft, reflecting low seasonality

• PV Dispatches moderate, tractors disappoint due to delay in harvest season

• 2Ws in recovery mode, exports lag

• No longer a major risk-reward divergence, valuation gaps have narrowed

• Sector EPS growth expected to decelerate in 2024, 2025

• Credit growth likely to remain strong; superior execution on liability to be key

• Revival in EM flows to benefit big cap bank stocks

• Recommends buying HDFC, ICICI, IndusInd, Bandhan Bank, Union Bank of India

• Eicher, Maruti, M&M, Escorts disappoint

• Dec prints soft, reflecting low seasonality

• PV Dispatches moderate, tractors disappoint due to delay in harvest season

• 2Ws in recovery mode, exports lag

• PDS Ltd at 27.23 times its 30 day average

• Alembic Pharmaceuticals at 11.9 times its 30 day average

• Allcargo Logistics at 6.9 times its 30 day average

• Sun Pharma Advanced Research at 5.39 times its 30 day average

• Lemon Tree Hotels at 4.81 times its 30 day average

• PTC Industries at 3.22 times its 30 day average

Gets multiple orders worth Rs 184 crore for construction of storm water drain work

Source: Exchange Filing

• 11.6 lakh shares changed hands in a large trade

• 0.1% equity changed hands at Rs 284.45 apiece

• Buyers and sellers not known immediately

Source: Bloomberg

Coal India Ltd rose to an over eight-year high on Tuesday after it reported 8.2% on year growth in coal production in December.

The company's coal production was at 71.9 MMT, 8.2% higher on annualised basis in December. The coal production was at 531.9 MMT, up 11% for 9 months.

Shares of Lupin Ltd. jumped to hit a multi-year high today after brokerage firm Nomura raised its target price to Rs 1,593 from Rs 1,290 earlier citing expectations of Ebitda margin improvement and a favourable risk-reward ratio.

• Quality unit failed to investigate deviations and investigations thoroughly

• Responsibilities and procedures applicable to quality unit were not written and fully followed for formulation manufacturing

• Equipments and utensils were not cleaned and maintained at appropriate intervals

• Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of test methods not established

Alert: NDTV Profit accesses USFDA letter to Torrent Pharma

Source: USFDA

Benchmark indices continued Monday's fall after opening flat as banks and information technology stocks dragged.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was at 72,332.85, up points 60.91 or 0.08% while the NSE Nifty 50 was at 21,757.50, up by 15.60 points or 0.07%.

"Nifty has taken a halt near 21800 zone finding resisting since the last 3 sessions and has been in consolidation with support maintained near 21670 levels with overall bias maintained strong as of now," said Prabhudas Lilladher in a report.

"As we have mentioned earlier, the index would need to sustain above the support zone of 21550 levels to maintain the positive bias and upside need to breach above the 21800 zone for fresh breakout to continue with the uptrend. The support for the day is seen at 21600 zone while the resistance is seen at 21900 level," the report added.

Bank Nifty also has been hovering near the 48300 zone since the last few sessions and would need to break above the 48600 zone for continuation of the uptrend, the report said. "On the downside the levels near 46300 shall remain as the strong support zone below which the trend shall turn weak. BankNifty would have a daily range of 47900– 48600 levels."

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Tata Consumer Products Ltd., and Divi's Laboratories contributed the most to the gains.

Meanwhile, Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and UltraTech Cement Ltd., dragged the indices.

Sectoral indices were mixed with Nifty Media gaining the gaining the most and Nifty Pharma hitting a lifetime high of 17,167.60 points.

Broader indices outperformed the benchmarks with BSE MidCap gaining 0.12% and BSE SmallCap gaining 0.34%. Ten out of the 20 sectors compiled by the BSE advanced and ten declined.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. As many as 2,030 stocks advanced, 965 declined and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was at 72,332.85, up points 60.91 or 0.08% while the NSE Nifty 50 was at 21,757.50, up by 15.60 points or 0.07%.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 7.21% on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency weakened 3 paise to open at 83.27 against the U.S dollar on Tuesday.

• It closed at 83.24 on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg

• Increase underweight on consumer, raise banks to overweight

• Remain positive on domestic economy/capex like domestic cyclicals viz. banks, power, telecom, industrial, property

• Underweight on IT, consumer, energy

• Key picks: large banks (Axis Bank, ICICI Bank), Developers (Lodha, GPL)

• Key picks: Power (Coal India, JSW Energy), 2-Wheelers (TVS, Eicher)

• Key picks: Telecom (Bharti), Cap Goods (Adani Ports, Kajaria)

• Resurgence of capex upcycle implies robust 6-7% GDP growth over 5-7 years

• Potential slowdown in govt. capex in upcoming budget not a worry

• Foreign investor positioning on India is light

• CY24 should see greater FPI inflows which should help banking stocks

• Ebitda margin to improve over next 3-4 years on new launches, cost control/operating leverage

• US pipeline could help drive growth on current base

• Better growth in India on field-force expansion, chronic segment presence

• Raise EPS estimates for FY24/25/26 by 8%/2%/14%

• Dec’24 NIFTY target is 22.5k (19x 1yr forward PE)

• Citi/Consensus Nifty EPS growth estimates stand at 17%/20% for FY24, 14%/15% for FY25

• Citi India Sentiment Indicator is in Sell Zone (+1.1)

• See equity risk premiums for Indian equities are near record lows

• Prefer large caps over mid caps in 2024, as risk-reward is better in large caps

• Strong domestic inflows into SMIDs could continue to drive mid-cap performance

• Positive on ACC, Endurance, MGL in the midcap space

• Overweight on PSU Utilities/Defence, Industrials and Banks/Insurance

• Underweight on Discretionary, IT and Metals

• Five Contrarian Picks for 2024: HDFC Bank, Cipla, Devyani, Indus Towers and Endurance

• U.S. Dollar Index at 101.39

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.88%

• Brent crude up 1.21% at $77.97 per barrel

• Nymex crude up 1.10% at $72.44 per barrel

• GIFT Nifty was down 0.06% at 21,861.50 as of 8:25 a.m.

• Bitcoin was up 2.96% at $44,919.71

• Price band revised from 10% to 5%: HPL Electric and Power.

• Ex/record Bonus Issue: Allcargo Logistics.

• Nifty January futures down by 0.26% to 21,830 at a premium of 88.10 points.

• Nifty January futures open interest down by 1.3%.

• Nifty Bank January futures down by 0.46% to 48,405 at a premium of 171 points.

• Nifty Bank January futures open interest down by 1.2%.

• Nifty Options Jan. 4 Expiry: Maximum Call open interest at 22,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 21,700.

• Bank Nifty Options Jan. 3 Expiry: Maximum Call Open Interest at 51,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 48,000.

• Securities in the ban period: Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Copper.

• Jindal Saw: Promoter group Shradha Jatia bought 41,396 shares on Dec. 29.

• Ultramarine and Pigments: Promoter group S Narayan sold 9,000 shares on Dec. 29.

• MTAR Technologies: Promoter group K Vamshidhar Reddy sold 26,000 shares on Dec. 28.

• Deccan Gold Mines: Promoter Rama Mines Mauritius sold 78,040 shares between Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.

• Life Insurance Corp.: The company increased its stake in Asian Paints from 4.995% to 5%. It also received a demand order cum penalty notice worth Rs 806.3 crore from Maharashtra tax authorities. The company will file an appeal before the Commissioner of Appeals, Mumbai, against the demand order.

• Hindustan Unilever: The company received a GST demand notice from five different states amounting to nearly Rs 450 crore.

• Gensol Engineering: The company approved raising funds up to Rs 300 crore via qualified institutional placement.

• SJVN: The company has received approval from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management to set up four joint venture companies with the Ministry of Power.

• Coal India: The company recorded coal production at 71.9 MMT, up 8.2% YoY for December, and coal production at 531.9 MMT, up 11% YoY for 9 months.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals: That company has clarified that it still has not bagged the order worth Rs 19,400 crore from NLC India.

• Tata Motors: The carmaker reported December passenger vehicle sales at 1.38 lakh units, up 5% YoY; commercial vehicle sales at 34,180 units, up 1% YoY; and domestic sales at 76,138 units, up 4.3% YoY.

• TVS Motor: The company recorded December vehicle sales at 3.02 lakh units, up 25% YoY; two-wheeler sales at 2.9 lakh units, up 27% YoY; and three-wheeler sales at 11,834 units, down 17.5% YoY. The company's motorcycle sales were at 1.48 lakh units, up 19% YoY and electronic vehicle sales were at 11,232 units, up 1.5% YoY.

• Eicher Motors: The company recorded December motorcycle sales at 63,387 units, down 7% YoY and motorcycle exports at 6,096 units, down 29% YoY.

• Nestle India: The company received a GST demand order of Rs 46 crore. The company will challenge the order.

• APL Apollo Tubes: The company recorded Q3 total sales volume at 6.04 lakh tonne, down 11% QoQ.

• Power Grid Corp.: The company appointed Ravindra Kumar Tyagi as the chairman and managing director. It also received a letter of intent for a 20 GW inter-state transmission system in Rajasthan.

• UltraTech Cement: The company reported Q3 total sales volume at 26.06 MT, up 2% QoQ.

• GR Infraprojects: The company received a letter of intent for the establishment of a 1,000 MW transmission system in Madhya Pradesh. The project will have an annual transmission charge worth Rs 41.97 crore.

• Akzo Nobel India: The Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Department imposed a total liability of Rs 6.29 crore on the company.

• Religare Enterprises: The company received GST demands of Rs 35.92 crore and a penalty of Rs 3.59 crore from the Principal Commissioner, Central Goods and Service Tax, and the Central Excise Commissionerate of Chandigarh.

• Tinplate Company of India: The National Company Law Tribunal has approved the merger of the company into Tata Steel.

• KFin Technologies: The company will not proceed with investment in Fintech Products and Solutions (India) Pvt. 

• Rites, MSTC: Manobendra Ghoshal has been relived from Rites and has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of MSTC, thereby ceased to be among the senior management of the company.

• JTL Industries: The company recorded its highest ever quarterly sales volume of 1,00,905 MT, up 76.05% YoY.

• South Indian Bank: The company recorded gross advances of Rs 77,713 crore, up 10.8% YoY, total deposits of Rs 99,164 crore, up 9.4% YoY, and a CASA ratio of 31.79%, down 204 basis points YoY, as of Dec. 31, 2023.

• NRB Bearings: Pankaj Khemka has resigned as chief financial officer of the company due to personal reasons.

• Kirloskar Pneumatic: The company has appointed Suhas S. Kolhatkar as vice president and CFO.

• SG Finserve: The company recorded a loan book for Q3-FY 2024 at Rs 1,888 crore, up 14% QoQ.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region started the first trading session of the year on a muted note. Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded 0.8% lower, and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.3% on Tuesday.

Share indices in Australia edged higher, with the benchmark S&P ASX 200 trading 0.44% up at 7,623.60.

Markets in Japan will remain closed until Jan. 4. A massive earthquake struck Japan's east coast, resulting in a major Tsunami. Six people died in the disaster.

The January futures contract of GIFT Nifty traded 19.5 points, or 0.09%, lower at 21,854.50 as of 8:25 a.m. 

India's benchmark indices ended the first day of 2024 little changed as market participants indulged in profit-booking after both indices hit record highs on Monday. Intraday, both Nifty and Sensex hit a record high of 21,834.35 and 72,561.91, respectively.

Overseas investors were net sellers of Indian equities on Monday. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 855.8 crore, while domestic institutional investors mopped up equities worth Rs 410.5 crore, according to provisional data from the NSE.

The Indian rupee weakened 3 paise to close at Rs 83.24 against the U.S. dollar.