Indian equity benchmarks ended with substantial losses on Tuesday, bucking positive global cues. This comes as the Nifty exhibits significant volitality and nervousness. The Nifty settled near 22,300 level after hitting the day's high of 22,499.05 in early trade.

Major FII selling and election uncertainty has caused a shift in investor sentiment. Previously bullish traders are adopting a more cautious stance, leading to the current market jitters.

Realty, metal and PSU bank stocks were under pressure. On the other hand, FMCG and IT shares witnessed buying demand.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 383.69 points or 0.52% to 73,511.85. The Nifty 50 declined 140.20 points or 0.62% to 22,302.50.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 1.90% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.65%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,091 shares rose and 2,732 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.45% to 17.01.

Politics:

On 7 May 2024, the Lok Sabha elections will enter their third phase with voting in 96 parliamentary constituencies across 12 states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The BJP is seeking a third consecutive term, facing opposition from a coalition named the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which includes the Congress party. This round is part of a seven-phase election process running from April 19 to June 1, with the final election results scheduled to be revealed on June 4.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Indegene received 18,50,15,853 bids for shares as against 2,88,66,677 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:25 IST on Tuesday (07 May 2024). The issue was subscribed 6.40 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (06 May 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (08 May 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 430 to Rs 452 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 33 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index dropped 3.49% to 954.70. The index jumped 2.59% in the past trading session.

Sobha (down 6.56%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 5.51%), Phoenix Mills (down 4.26%), Macrotech Developers (down 3.98%), DLF (down 3.55%), Sunteck Realty (down 2.68%), Oberoi Realty (down 2.12%), Godrej Properties (down 2.03%), Brigade Enterprises (down 1.97%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.49%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin slipped 3.94%. The pharma major’s consolidated net profit surged 52.33% to Rs 359.43 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 235.96 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales jumped by 13.04% to Rs 4,895.11 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 4330.30 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Godrej Consumer Products rallied 5.53%. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 1,893.21 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against net profit of Rs 452.14 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales rose 6.08% to Rs 3,365.11 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 3,172.21 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Uttam Sugar Mills tumbled 5.80% after the company reported -39.8% drop in net profit to Rs 42.14 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 70 crore in Q4 FY23. Net sales declined 11.8% year-over-year (YoY) to Rs 465.15 crore in the fourth quarter.

Prudent Corporate Advisory Services declined 2.03%. The financial products distributor's consolidated net profit rose 8.1% to Rs 44.57 crore on 35.45% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 239.7 crore in Q4 FY24 over Q4 FY23.

Route Mobile dropped 5.18% after the company’s consolidated net profit fell 13.3% to Rs 88.10 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 105.74 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 0.83% YoY to Rs 1017.03 crore in Q4 FY24.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals slipped 4.11% after the company’s consolidated net profit tumbled 69.58% to Rs 100.97 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 331.88 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations fell 23% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,133.03 crore in quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Global Markets:

Asian and European stocks rallied on Tuesday, with indexes in Japan, South Korea, and Australia extending gains. This followed positive earnings reports from several tech companies in Q1 and the Reserve Bank of Australia's dovish stance, which reinforced bets that it will not raise rates further in 2024.

The positive sentiment stemmed from Wall Street's performance on Monday, particularly the technology sector's rise after a string of strong first-quarter earnings reports. U.S. stocks closed higher overall, buoyed by the expectation of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year.