Domestic benchmark indices fell on Thursday, as HDFC Bank extended its post-earnings decline, while IT stocks came under pressure amid growing doubts over early US rate cuts. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.44% lower at 71,187, while the NSE Nifty50 index closed below the 21,500 level."The short-term trend of Nifty remains weak. Having declined sharply, there is a possibility of a pull-back rally in the short term, which is expected to be a ‘sell on rise’ opportunity. Important resistance to be watched at 21,700-21,800 levels. The important lower supports are placed at 21,200-21,000 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities.

Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) on Thursday posted a 35 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 691.22 crore during the December quarter, aided by trimmed expenses. Its net profit was at Rs 512.62 crore during the October-December period of the preceding 2022-23 fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.

​The Indian market closed in the red on Thursday for the third consecutive day in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex fell more than 300 points while the Nifty50 closed below 21,500.

On Wednesday, the government announced plans to sell 251,125,870 shares, representing a 2.5% stake in NHPC, and set the floor price at Rs 66/share. This was at a steep discount of nearly 10% to the closing price of the stock. Further, the government said it would sell an additional 100,450,348 shares, representing a 1% stake, in case of an oversubscription.

Brokerage firm Emkay in its latest report has listed its top smallcap picks to buy in the near term. Take a look:

Short covering refers to the buying of shares to close an existing short position or a position that has been sold. Short covering signals a shift in view on a security from extreme bearishness to bullishness. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks saw top short covering. Here's the list:

Long unwinding refers to the selling of positions or stocks owned for a longer period either to book profits or to exit it in anticipation of impending bearishness. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks witnessed a top-long unwinding. Here's the list:

Closing Bell: Sensex falls for 3rd day, ends 314 pts lower; Nifty below 21,500; Sobha soars 10%, IEX tanks 7%

Indian shares fell on Thursday, dragged by financial services as HDFC Bank extended a decline and weaker information technology stocks. However, in today's trade, four midcap stocks from the Nifty200 index hit new 52-week highs. Take a look

Nifty Financial Services dropped 1%, as HDFC Bank lost 3%, extending declines from its worst session in over three years on Wednesday. The IT index fell 0.6%, dragged by a 10.7% decline in LTIMindtree after it missed December-quarter profit estimates on weak demand and furloughs.

In KCP Sugar, Dolly Khanna raised her stake to 1.35% in the December quarter from 1.26% in the September quarter. This smallcap scrip has been a market laggard with 14% returns, which remains below Nifty’s returns.

Here's a list of likely changes foreseen by ICRA Analytics for mutual fund and stock market investors in the upcoming interim Budget. Take a look

Probably banking is a word which many may not like to hear given the fact that the fall has been led by the banking sector. But the fact is short term market moves are different from what is happening in the real business. In the case of PSU banks, there has been an improvement in performance in the last two quarters. Yes, there will be some cyclical pressure on margins but beside margins there is more to PSU banking space, which is credit off take that too from large private corporates. Given the higher probability of capex cycle is likely to revive, these banks are much better placed due to the size and skill set to lend to such sectors.

Kacolia's investment in La Opala stood at 1.66% in the October-December period versus 1.59% in the preceding quarter. The hike comes despite a strong underperformance by the stock over the last 12 months where the shares of La Opala have witnessed a 7% price erosion.

In KCP Sugar, Dolly Khanna raised her stake to 1.35% in the December quarter from 1.26% in the September quarter. This smallcap scrip has been a market laggard with 14% returns, which remains below Nifty’s returns.

The dialogues are going on between Zee Entertainment and Sony Group with respect to the completion of the deal ahead of the expiry of the 1-month grace period that both parties had agreed to, ET NOW reported, quoting sources.

Nifty opened lower and got weaker as the day progressed. It closed with a loss.

Volatility never gives notice before coming. While some might be feeling volatility has come in just the last two trading sessions, the fact is that markets have been volatile since the start of 2024. There is a high probability that we might see more of it in the coming weeks. So, it would be better to stay prepared for volatility. One of the ways for that would be to stay with large caps and especially the ones which have shown streak of outperformance at a time when other large caps have been under pressure. Another reason valuations are high in large part of the mid and small caps and they are the ones which might lose more weight if the markets stay under pressure due to profit booking.

A long buildup is when there is a rise in open interest and volumes along with an increase in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment. The long buildup is the occurrence of a long (buying) trend in the share market. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh long positions. Here's the list:

A short buildup is when there is a rise in open interest and volumes along with a decrease in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment. Short buildup means more people are expecting the prices to go down and creating short positions. In Wednesday’s trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh short positions. Here's the list:

ETMarkets spoke to Varun Saboo, Head - Equities, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers on markets, Interim Budget 2024 as well as sectors to bet on in the new year.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 437.3 crore. Its revenue from operations increased 25.9% to Rs 1823.6 crore as against Rs 1449.2 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

The journey to our current trading hours began with the advent of electronic trading. In 1995, the introduction of the BSE Online Trading (BOLT) system marked a new era, transitioning India's markets from traditional outcry to digital trading.

NIFTY had strong growth in 2023 compared to the previous year. Global markets recovered, with the NASDAQ and S&P 500 showing significant increases. Despite challenges, Indian markets and sectors like real estate, PSE, and Autos performed well. The BSE SME IPO index delivered outstanding returns. The US showed growth, while the Euro zone experienced recession and China faced real estate worries.

For the nine months, the annualised premium equivalent, a measure of life insurance business computed as a sum of annualised first-year premium and 10% of single premiums, grew by 1.7% to Rs 5,430 crore.

ONGC Ltd, an oil & gas stock, has rallied by over 20% in the last 3 months, hitting a fresh 52-week high in January 2024. Short-term traders can buy the stock for a target of Rs 295 in the next 3 months. The stock rose from Rs 186 to Rs 239, a 26% upside in 3 months. It broke out from a multi-year swing high and closed above the Bollinger band on the monthly charts. Investors may consider initiating a position with a target of 295 and a stop loss at 190.

The government plans to sell 251,125,870 shares, representing a 2.5% stake in NHPC and has set the floor price at Rs 66 a share. This is at a steep discount of nearly 10% from the current market price.

Despite selling by mutual funds and foreign investors, Allcargo Terminals, PC Jeweller, and MSTC saw significant returns in the last quarter. Allcargo Terminals' stock hit a lifetime high with 102% returns and a decrease in mutual fund holding from 1.30% to 0.55% and FII holding from 8.22% to 7.61%. PC Jeweller gave 123% returns with MFs exiting the company and FIIs reducing their holding.

Jefferies said it is not expecting an immediate tax hike, considering elections, some post-election measures such as higher capital gains tax are possible during the year.

Mutual fund investors are worried about the sharp drop in shares of HDFC Bank, which is the largest holding in equity MFs. During the Santa rally, mutual funds sold 2.54 crore shares of HDFC Bank, taking advantage of the stock's 9.7% increase in December. SBI MF, HDFC AMC, Nippon India, UTI MF, Kotak Mahindra MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Mirae Asset, and DSP Mutual Fund all have HDFC Bank as their single largest equity holding.

Stocks in sectors like hotels, travel industry, telecom, consumption as well as infrastructure are likely to benefit the most.

Most investor concerns around the private sector lender are around its flat NIM (net interest margin) on a QoQ basis despite the withdrawal of ICRR and a sharp decline in LCR to 110%. The average growth of deposits was too low compared to the guidance.

Asian Paints shares plunged 6% to the day's low of Rs 3,048.60 in Thursday's early trade following its December quarter earnings.

Sensex falls below 71,000 as HDFC Bank shares continued the slide. Nifty slips below 21,400. Power Grid, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Wipro and Bajaj Finserv declined. NHPC shares drop 6% due to Indian government's stake sale. Nifty IT, Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG, Metal, Realty, and Healthcare open in the red. Asian markets trade mixed, US Treasury yields edge higher. FIIs sell Indian shares worth Rs 10,578 crore. Oil prices edge higher as OPEC forecasts strong growth. Indian rupee falls to $83.16.

Brokerage firm Bernstein maintained an outperform rating on HDFC Bank, Nomura maintained a buy rating on Apollo Hospitals, InCred downgraded LTIMindtree and Goldman Sachs maintained a neutral rating on Asian Paints.

Australian Premium Solar, a manufacturer of Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline solar panels, debuted with a 159.3% premium on the NSE SME platform. The IPO garnered subscription of over 450 times, with the retail investors category subscribed 530 times and the NII portion booked 770 times. The QIB part of the IPO was booked 107 times. The net proceeds will be used for capital expenditure, working capital, and general corporate purposes.

Shares of New Swan Multitech listed with a premium of 90% on the BSE SME platform. The stock debuted at Rs 125.4, compared with an offer price of Rs 66. The company's shares commanded a GMP of Rs 56 in the unlisted market. The IPO was entirely a fresh equity issue of 50.16 and through the issue, the company plans to raise Rs 33.11 crore.

Munjal Auto Industries, a leading auto component manufacturing company in India, continues to benefit from its extensive track record of operations. Munjal Auto has an installed annual manufacturing capacity for various automotive assemblies. The company is the sole supplier of mufflers to Hero MotoCorp and acquired a stake in Indutch Composites Technology. Ramp up in ICTPL’s performance would further stabilize Munjal Auto's consolidated operations.

HDFC Bank remained the biggest pressure point for the headline indices as the stock fell another 3% and failed to attract enough dip buyers.

Sensex slides 500 points, Nifty below 21,450; LTIMintree tanks 9%, ICICI Pru 7%; YES Bank, Vodafone Idea, Rail Vikas Nigam are some of the gainers in the morning trade.

LTIMindtree on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit rose 17% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,169 crore for the quarter ended December 2023. The same stood at Rs 1,000 crore a year ago. Revenue from operations in the same period increased by 5% to Rs 9,017 crore as against Rs 8,620 crore in the December quarter of last year.

ET Now spoke to various experts, and here's what they have to recommend for today's trading session. Kunal Bothra has a buy/sell recommendation on Apollo Hospitals and ICICI Bank, while Nooresh Merani has a buy/sell recommendation on Power Grid Corp and Apollo Hospitals for today's trading session. Check out the targets and stoploss.

HDFC Bank remained the biggest pressure point for the headline indices as the stock fell another 3% and failed to attract enough dip buyers.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, though it was still languishing near Wednesday's two-month low of 490.45 points.

Stocks that were in focus included names like HDFC Bank, which fell 8.16%, TV18 Broadcast, which rose 7.58%, and SAIL, whose shares declined 5% on Wednesday.

“KCP stock recently witnessed a buy signal in Ichimoku setup which generally results in start of a fresh uptrend implying a long and sustained upside can be expected from KCP going forward. Traders can buy for a target of Rs 225 in the next 6-9 months,” Gaurav Bissa, VP, InCred Equities, said.

Kutty replaces Murali Natrajan who completes 15 years as the bank's CEO at the end of April, which is the maximum limit for the position according to RBI norms.

The Sensex dropped 1,628.01 points, or 2.23%, to close at 71,500.76. The Nifty declined 460.35 points, or 2.09%, to close at 21,571.95. The previous biggest fall in a day was in June 2022. The selloff resulted in India's market capitalisation eroding by ₹3.98 lakh crore on Wednesday to ₹370.36 lakh crore.

After almost a year of investing in Pricol Ltd, Minda Corporation exited the automotive component maker by selling its entire 15.7% stake through the open market on Wednesday.

Apart from the deceleration in government spending, higher direct tax collections and a likely sharp rise in issuances of Treasury Bills by the Centre in FY24 were factors pushing up the government's cash balances, analysts said. The flow of government cash balances to and from the banking system is a key factor that influences liquidity conditions.