Equity benchmark indices extended losses for the third consecutive session on Tuesday pulled down by heavy selling in IT stocks amid weak global trends and fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The BSE Sensex plunged 456.10 points or 0.62 per cent to close at 72,943.68. The NSE Nifty fell 124.60 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 22,147.90. Majority of the sectors ended in the red. Buying was seen in Oil & Gas, Pharma & FMCG.
Stock Markets remained closed on April 17 on account of Ram Navmi.
“Escalating tension in the Middle East has turned sentiments sour leading to a rise in crude oil prices. A mixed set of economic data from China further dampened the sentiments. Although better-than-expected China’s GDP number at 5.3 per cent came in as a surprise, poor March activity data offset any positivity. Thus, Global markets continue to remain weak. Weak global cues and Rs 11,295 crore selling by FIIs in the last two days hurt domestic markets. In the near term, we expect the market to remain volatile until the Iran-Israel tension eases,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are the key stocks to watch on April 18:
1) Ambuja Cements: Adani Family, promoters of Ambuja Cements, announced that it will infuse an additional Rs 8,339 crore into Ambuja Cements Limited, by fully subscribing to the warrants programme in the company. This will take the promoter’s total infusion of the Adani family to Rs 20,000 crore into the company. Adani Group’s stake in the cement and building material company will also increase by an additional 3.6 per cent to 70.3 per cent.
2) Vodafone Idea: The telecom company has successfully raised Rs 5,400 crore from 74 anchor investors including GQG Partners, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, UBS, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Citigroup Global Markets, Australian Super, Fidelity, Quant, and Motilal Oswal. It has allocated 491 crore shares to anchor investors at Rs 11 per share. GQG has invested Rs 1,348 crore, Fidelity Rs 774 crore, and Redwheel Funds has put in Rs 281 crore.
3) Tata Communications: The company reported a 1.5 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 321.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to Rs 326 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations increased 24.6 per cent to Rs 5,691.7 crore compared to Rs 4,568.7 crore in the year-ago period.
4) Angel One: The company reported a 27.3 per cent YoY growth in the net profit at Rs 340 crore for the fourth quarter as against Rs 267 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations jumped 64.3 per cent to Rs 1,357.2 crore against Rs 826 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
5) Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The board of Zee Entertainment Enterprises approved a lean organisation structure proposed by the company’s MD and CEO Punit Goenka. Goenka emphasized four key business verticals including broadcast, digital, movies, and music. He will be directly handling the domestic broadcast business.
