Sensex, Nifty50 edge lower as FMCG, pharma stocks drag

• India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 declined in the first half of trading on Wednesday, dragged down by FMCG and pharma stocks.
  
• While the 30-stock Sensex was down 0.1% of 60 points to 60,974, the 50-stock index Nifty50 was down 0.1% of 17 points to 17,913, as of 12:30 p.m.
  
• Adani Group, Vodafone Idea, ONGC are amongst stocks in focus today.
  

India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 declined in the first half of trading on Wednesday, dragged down by FMCG and pharma stocks. SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the markets may perform, was down 0.36% or 65 points early in the morning today.

While the 30-stock Sensex was down 0.1% of 60 points to 60,974, the 50-stock index Nifty50 was down 0.1% of 17 points to 17,913, as of 12:30 p.m.

Top gainers and losers on Nifty50:

Source: NSE, as at 12:30 p.m., February 15, 2023

Earlier on Tuesday, Sensex closed above the 61,000-level after gains of 0.99%, while Nifty50 closed 0.89% higher at 17,930.

Higher than expected inflation in January does not seem to have dissuaded investors. Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net buyers for the third straight session, with purchases of ₹1,305 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought equities worth ₹205 crore.

US and Asian markets tumble on elevated inflation in the US

Higher than expected inflation in the US led to a decline in markets in the US and Asia – the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 6.4% in January, higher than the expected 6.2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46%, while S&P 500 declined 0.33%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, rose 0.57%.

Markets in Asia were trading in the red on Wednesday morning, with Taiwan Weighted declining the most at 1.61%, followed by Hang Seng at 1.39%. KOSPI was down 1.19%, while Shanghai Composite was down 0.36%. Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%.

Stocks to watch

Adani Group: Billionaire Gautam Adani reportedly has a payment obligation worth $2 billion coming up between January and March 2024. In a bid to calm investors post Hindenburg Research crisis, the Group said on Tuesday that its companies face no material refinancing risk or near term liquidity issues.

Adani Enterprises: The Adani flagship reported a net profit of ₹820 crore in Q3, as against a loss of ₹12 crore a year ago. Its revenue surged 42% year-on-year to ₹26,612 crore, with net margins improving both sequentially and YoY to 3.1% in Q3.

Vodafone Idea: The telecom operator reported widening of losses at ₹7,990 crore in December quarter as compared to ₹7,234 last year. However, revenue from operations increased over 9% to ₹10,620 crore from ₹9,717 crore.

ONGC: The state owned oil company meets earnings estimates and reported 26% rise in net profit to ₹11,045 crore in Q3 FY23 owing to higher prices of gas under the administered price mechanism (APM).

Stocks under F&O ban

Ambuja Cement, BHEL, Indiabulls Housing Finance and PNB are stocks under F&O ban list on Wednesday.

SEE ALSO:

Catching ‘em early: Early-stage startups shine as their investor pool widens

Top stocks: Here’s what the Big Boys bought between October and December

Adani Enterprises posts ₹820 crore net profit in Q3: Gautam Adani says current market volatility temporary