NIFTY50: 19,745 ▼ 234 (-1.1%)
SENSEX: 66,684 ▼ 887 (-1.3%)
Hello, friends!
Whether you view a post-lunch nap as a sign of laziness or an unaffordable luxury, no one can deny the appeal of an afternoon siesta! There’s a restaurant in Jordan’s capital Amman that not only serves its patrons sumptuous meals but also allows them to take a nap afterwards. So if you’re in the city and looking for a place to have a meal and rest, you know where to go! Speaking of rest, the markets took a breather from the ongoing record rally and closed in the negative. More on that later.
- Markets snapped a six-day winning run, NIFTY50 closed below 19,750.
- In all, 36 of the NIFTY50 stocks closed in the red
- Retail sales in the UK rose by 0.7% in June 2023, above the market estimates of 0.2%
Among the NIFTY sectoral indices, IT (-4.0%) and FMCG (-1.0%) were the top losers, while Media (+0.4%) and Auto (+0.09%) ended with marginal gains.
| Top gainers | Today's change |
| LT | 2,587 ▲ 97 (+3.9%) |
| ONGC | 170 ▲ 3.3 (+2.0%) |
| NTPC | 194 ▲ 1.8 (+0.9%) |
| Top losers | Today's change |
| Infosys | 1,337 ▼ 112 (-7.7%) |
| HUL | 2,605 ▼ 97 (-3.6%) |
| HCL Tech | 1,119 ▼ 36 (-3.1%) |
What’s trending
⭐ L&T shares rise on order win and buyback plan
Shares of L&T rose amid a weak market after the construction giant announced a “mega” order win (valued over ₹7,000 crore) for its heavy civil infrastructure business. The company has received a mandate from the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) to construct the 135.5 km stretch on the Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project. Further, the company also said that it will consider a special dividend and its first-ever share buyback on 25 July 2023.
⭐ HDFC Life posts robust Q1 results
HDFC Life Insurance reported a 15.4% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit to ₹415 crore for the June quarter. The company’s net premium income increased 16.6% YoY to ₹11,479 crore. Its first-year premium income grew 8.4% YoY to ₹1,851 crore, while renewal premium income increased nearly 14% YoY to ₹5,804 crore. Despite strong results, the stock fell nearly 2% today amid weakness in the broader market.
⭐ Print media companies’ shares in focus
Shares of print media companies rallied amid heavy volumes, after DB Corp reported a strong set of numbers for Q1FY24. The company’s consolidated profit after tax jumped 154% YoY to ₹78.8 crore from 31 crore in the year-ago period. Besides DB Corp, HT Media and Jagaran Prakashan also hit their respective 52-week highs intraday. The sector has been witnessing strong traction on the back of strong advertising revenues, driven by elections, government spending etc.
⭐Crude oil edges higher
International crude oil prices jumped more than 1% intraday, with Brent crude trading at $80.7 per barrel. This comes after as the Chinese government hinted at the possibility of implementing additional economic stimulus measures to bolster its economy. On a weekly basis, crude oil is all set to close in the green for the fourth straight week, having gained more than 1.5% this week.
In Focus
NIFTY stumbles before the 20K finish line
Markets were expected to scale new historic highs today. The stage was all set for the NIFTY50 to reach 20,000 levels. However, the benchmark index tanked over 250 points, closing at 19,745. Meanwhile, SENSEX crashed nearly 900 points to slip below the 67,000 mark. What are the key factors behind today’s fall? Let's find out.
Infosys tanks after poor Q1 earnings
Today’s market corrections were led by IT stocks, which nosedived after Infosys reported disappointing June quarter earnings. The IT major’s Q1 revenue rose merely 1.3% quarter-on-quarter, while its net profit declined 3%. However, the biggest shock was the FY24 revenue guidance, which lowered from 4-7% to 1-3.5%. Following this, Infosys shares crashed nearly 10% intraday and had cascading impact on other tech stocks with TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro declining 2-3%. The NIFTY IT index fell more than 4%.
HUL tumbles after weak Q1 numbers
What Infosys did to IT stocks, HUL did to FMCG stocks. Below par Q1 results by HUL, with volume growth of merely 3% YoY was key dragger for the company. A domino effect was seen in other FMCG stocks, as shares of HUL fell 3.6%, while Tata Consumer closed lower by 2.3%. Meanwhile, NIFTY FMCG was down over 1%
Reliance falls and US indices slump
Other than this, shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined over 3% ahead of its Q1 results and selling pressure caused by the demerger of Jio Financial Services from its parent entity. In addition, yesterday’s fall in the US markets also impacted domestic markets.
Will markets witness a turnaround next week? Well a lot of it will depend on the June quarter earnings of index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank, which will be announced in the next two days.
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