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On Wednesday, after trading on a flat note in the first half, share markets in India came under pressure in the afternoon session and ended deep in the red.
Benchmark indices plunged reacting to the unscheduled repo rate hike announcement made by the central bank at around 2 pm yesterday.
At the closing bell on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex plunged 1,307 points, ending 2.3% lower.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty plummeted 392 points, ending at 16,677.
Power Grid and NTPC were among the top gainers.
Titan, Bajaj Twins, and IndusInd Bank were among the top losers.
The broader markets witnessed a heavy sell-off as the BSE Mid Cap index ended 2.6% lower while the BSE Small Cap index dipped 2.1%.
All the sectoral indices ended in red with stocks in the FMCG, metal, bank, and auto sector witnessing most of the selling.
Shares of GHCL and Sumitomo Chemical India hit their 52-week high.
At 7:50 am today, the SGX Nifty was trading up by 156 points or 1% higher at 16,850 levels.
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Indian share markets are headed for a gap-up opening today following the trend on SGX Nifty.
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Hero MotoCorp share price will be among the top buzzing stocks today.
The company's chief growth officer sees a strong quarter ahead driving on festive and wedding sales along with a bumper Rabi crop.
Hero's growth in sales also came on the back of price hike taken by the company to counter inflation in commodity prices.
Tata Steel share price will also be in focus today.
The company's MD in an interview stated that the recent repo rate hike won't hurt the company now as it did in the past, as the company has deleveraged a lot.
In the last two years, Tata Steel has reduced net debt by around Rs 530 bn and the company is not looking to borrow money anytime soon.
Market participants will also track shares of Adani Power, CEAT, and Dabur India as these companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter results later today.
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Tata Consumer shares will be in focus today as the company on Wednesday garnered a more than 3-fold jump in its consolidated bottom line to Rs 2.4 bn.
This compared to Rs 0.7 bn reported in the year ago quarter.
The company's revenue from operations for the quarter under review jumped by 4.6% to Rs 31.8 bn compared with Rs 30.4 bn in the same quarter last year.
However, the company witnessed a marginal decline of 1% in its revenue from operations and a sharp 17.6% dip in bottomline compared to the December quarter.
The Tata group company's net profit was aided by growth in underlying profitability and lower exceptional costs.
For financial year 2022, the company's net profit rose to Rs 10.1 bn from Rs 9.3 bn in the previous fiscal.
The company stated that the year-on-year rise in revenue was due to growth in the India branded business.
In the meeting held yesterday, the company's board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.05 per equity share, for the financial year 2022.
LIC's mega IPO opened for subscription yesterday.
The government is selling 3.5% stake entirely through an offer for sale (OFS). Of which 10% is reserved for LIC policyholders and 0.7% for LIC employees. Also, 31.25% is reserved for retail investors.
The government is selling over 220 m shares at a price band of Rs 902-949 apiece in the initial public offering which will close on 9 May.
On day 1, the LIC issue was subscribed 67% led by policyholders who subscribed 2 times the portion allocated for them.
The employee portion saw healthy demand and was subscribed 1.17 times.
The retail segment though soured by the RBI hike was subscribed 0.6 times.
The non-institutional investor segment lagged in gaining attraction and was subscribed only 0.27 times while the qualified institution segment witnessed only 0.33x subscription.
The government has also extended the offer for the IPO where it will be open for bidding on Saturday, 7 May as well.
Policyholders will get a discount of Rs 60 per share, while employees and retail investors will be entitled to a lower discount of Rs 45.
As per the final papers filed, the allotment of shares to the demat account of bidders will happen by 16 May, post which LIC would be listed on or about 17 May.
We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced a hike in repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.4% with immediate effect, citing persistent inflationary pressures in the economy.
Increases in fuel and food prices, escalated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sustained pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, led to 17-month high inflation of 6.9% in March.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) has also been raised by 50 bps to 4.5%, effective from 21 May.
The increase in repo rate pushed the benchmark 10-year bond yield to its highest levels in three years.
Stating the hike as a strong move, veteran banker Uday Kotak said:
He also stated his expectation of a 100 basis (1%) points repo rate hike in the current financial year.
It remains to be seen how the above developments pan out.
To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
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