Sensex drops nearly 115 points in early trade; Nifty tests 17,800

Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark Sensex dropped nearly 115 points in early trade on February 9 tracking losses in index heavyweights Maruti, Tata Motors and Reliance industries amid mixed global cues.

Besides, “a weak Rupee against major rivals and persistent foreign capital outflows impacted domestic equity market sentiments,” traders said.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE index was trading 113.77 points or 0.19% lower at 60,550.02 in early deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 63.70 points or 0.36% to 17,808.

Maruti was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.31%, followed by Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, PowerGrid and TCS were the major gainers.

Meanwhile, shares of Adani Power fell 5% to 172.90 apiece on BSE in early deals, after the company on Wednesday reported a 96% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹8.77 crore for the December quarter.

Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Limited edged lower by 1.79% to 411.85 per scrip, despite the company reporting a 16% increase in its consolidated profit to ₹246.16 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022.

Adani Group’s flagship Adani Enterprises was trading 5.56% down at ₹2038.55 apiece on BSE. According to the RBI, domestic banks’ exposure to the Adani Group is “not very significant”, and the system is strong and large enough to not get impacted by a single case.

Meanwhile, France’s TotalEnergies has put on hold a planned investment in Adani Group’s $50 billion hydrogen project pending results of an audit launched following allegations by a U.S. short-seller, chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said on February 9.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 377.75 points or 0.63% to close at 60,663.79 and the broader Nifty of the NSE spurted by 150.20 points or 0.85% to settle at 17,871.70, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals while the Tokyo market closed in the negative territory. Equities on Wall Street ended significantly lower in the overnight trade. Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent slipped 0.11% to $85 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets as they offloaded shares worth ₹736.82 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

RBI projected India’s economic growth at 6.4% for 2023-24, broadly in line with the estimate of the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament last week.

It also estimated retail inflation to ease to 5.3% in the next fiscal from 6.5% this year on assumptions of lower imported inflation, even though core inflation remains sticky.

The RBI’s decision to hike the repo rate by 25 basis points was on expected lines but the policy focuses more on inflation despite the recent moderation in the number, bankers said on Wednesday.

Analysts are of the view that after delivering the seventh hawkish policy on Wednesday, the Central bank may pause after delivering a likely 25 basis points increase in the April review.