ITC hits 52-week high, Ashok Leyland's new collaboration & more

Nifty50: 17,706 ▼ 121 (-0.6%)
Sensex: 59,910 ▼ 520 (-0.8%)

Hello dear readers!

Move over, Beyoncé; it's time for Diljit Dosanjh to shine! The actor-singer made history by becoming the first-ever Punjabi artist to perform at the prestigious Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival 2023. And it wasn't just the crowd; even American music producer and DJ Diplo was seen grooving to his beats.

Dressed in a traditional black kurta and tamba, Diljit's electrifying performance left fans and music lovers in awe. Now isn’t that a super proud moment for India? However, the markets today weren't as upbeat as his performance. Let’s take a look.

• Sell-off in IT stocks impact markets.
• Out of the Nifty50 stocks, 18 stocks closed in red.
• WPI inflation eases to a 29-month low of 1.34% in March.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, PSU Bank (+3.1%) and FMCG (+1.0%) were the top gainers, while IT (-4.7%) and Pharma (-0.6%) were the top losers.

What’s trending

⭐ FMCG stocks rise, ITC hits 52-week high

Shares of the conglomerate rose over 1% to hit a fresh 52-week high. The stock crossed the ₹400-mark amid a sell-off in the broader markets. Apart from ITC, other FMCG stocks like Nestle India (+3.9%) and Britannia (+1.9%) also witnessed strong traction. Investors continue to rely on defensive stocks as the markets snapped its nine-day rally today.

⭐ Ashok Leyland and VRL collaborate

The commercial automaker (+0.3%) has secured an order to supply 1560 trucks. The new order was placed by logistics company VRL Logistics Limited. As part of the deal, Ashok Leyland will supply AVTR 3120 and AVTR 4420 TT trucks with advanced features to improve efficiency.

⭐ KIOCL wins mineral exploration orders

Shares of the iron ore company surged over 13% today after the company secured two orders worth ₹3.81 crores. The new orders from the National Mineral Exploration Trust for mineral exploration in Karnataka will be completed within 12 months.

⭐ Jubilant Ingrevia commissions new plant

Jubilant Ingrevia (+3.6%) has commissioned a new acetic anhydride plant in Gujarat, which adds around 60,000 MT of capacity to the manufacturing facility. This enhanced capacity will help the company strengthen its global presence and ensure sufficient feedstock availability for its global customers.

In Focus

IT stocks drag down markets

Markets opened gap-down today, snapping its nine-day winning streak. Nifty and Sensex plunged over 1% intraday, dragged down by sell-off in IT stocks like Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra and others. But why are IT stocks in the red and how has it affected the markets? Let's find out.

Sell-off in tech stocks

In today's market, tech stocks were the major drags. Infosys lost nearly 10%, followed by Tech Mahindra (-5.1%) and HCL Tech (-2.7%). Disappointing Q4 results from top-tier IT companies like Infosys and TCS, which missed street estimates, also impacted other IT stocks. In fact, the Nifty IT index fell over 4% intraday. As a result, overall markets closed in the red as these stocks are index heavyweights.   

Experts believe that the below par earnings of IT companies came amid global uncertainties, especially in the US markets. Factors such as ramp-down of IT projects by clients, delays in giving out new projects and deferral of non-critical initiatives have contributed to the weak performance.  

Global sentiment

In addition, weaker sentiment in the US markets following last week's disappointing retail sales data also weighed on market sentiment. Markets also remained cautious ahead of key Chinese economic data due later this week.

Rising crude oil prices

Rising crude oil prices are also making investors nervous. Oil prices have risen by more than 8% in April, with Brent crude trading above $86 per barrel following a surprise OPEC production cut earlier this month. ICYDK, India is one of the top oil importers and rising oil prices have an impact on the country's economy.

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Phrase of the day

Going Long

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