Benchmark indices ended lower amid RBI’s unchanged repo rate decision; Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices despite ending lower

PRE-MARKET REPORT

The equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended sharply lower following the status quo maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on key interest rates.

The Sensex closed 723.57 points or 1 percent down at 71,428.43, while the Nifty closed 212.55 points or 0.97 percent lower.

Broader markets closed lower as well but outperformed the benchmarks. Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 0.05 percent and Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 0.39 percent.

The rupee settled on a flat note at 82.96 against the US dollar, after the Reserve Bank decided to keep the key policy rate unchanged for the sixth time to maintain tight control on inflation.

 STOCKS TODAY

Cummins India: Shares of Cummins India rallied over 10 percent intraday to hit a new all-time high, a day after the company reported impressive earnings for the quarter ended December 2023. The company reported its highest-ever quarterly consolidated net profit at Rs 455 crore in the October-December quarter, up 26 percent from Rs 360 crore reported in the year-ago quarter. It also recorded its highest-ever revenue of Rs 2,534 crore, a YoY growth of 16.18 percent compared to Rs 2,181 crore in Q3 FY23

ITC: The ITC stock fell 4 percent after its largest shareholder, British American Tobacco (BAT), said it was working towards completing the regulatory process to pare its stake in the diversified conglomerate.BAT holds a 29.03 percent stake in ITC, which is worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The company said it has been working for some time on completing the regulatory process to give it the flexibility to monetize some of its shareholding

Yes Bank: Shares of Yes Bank eased from their 52-week high today after the bank clarified that it was not engaged in any negotiations related to SBI’s stake sale via a block deal. Yes Bank shares have surged 26 percent in the past month, while SBI shares have gained over 8 percent in this period.

Just Dial: Shares of Just Dial zoomed over 12 percent after the company allocated 9,375 equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each to some of its employees. This allocation follows the exercise by these employees of vested options granted to them under the relevant Employees’ Stock Option Schemes of the company. Consequent to the allotment, the issued, subscribed, and paid-up share capital of Just Dial has increased to Rs 85.5 crore, comprising 8.5 crore equity shares having a face value of Rs 10 each.

Suven Pharmaceuticals: Suven Pharmaceuticals shares traded 3 percent higher today after the global private equity player Advent International initiated a merger process between Suven Pharmaceuticals and Cohance Lifesciences. Through the merger, Advent seeks to create a top end-to-end contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and merchant active pharmaceuticals ingredients (API) firm that caters to the pharma and specialty chemical markets, as per the sources.