Nifty50 makes a sharp U-turn amid volatile trade, ends mildly lower at 22,443; all eyes on Godrej Consumer, Lupin results

Domestic equity benchmarks were on course to finish a volatile session on Monday on a flat note as selling pressure in energy stocks offset buying interest in IT and FMCG scrips. Dalal Street lost momentum after a positive start to the day amid hopes the Fed may not keep key interest rates higher for longer. 

The Sensex ended at 73,895.5, up 17.4 points from its previous close, while the Nifty50 settled at 22,442.7, down 33.2 points for the day. 

Titan, Adani Enterprises, Coal India, Bharat Petroleum, SBI, Adani Ports and NTPC, falling between 2.3 per cent and 7.2 per cent for the day, were the worst hit among the 27 losers in the Nifty50 basket. On the other hand, Britannia, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, HUL, M&M, LTIMindtree and Sun Pharma, closing between 1.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent higher, were the top gainers.

Titan shares slumped by Rs 253.8, or 7.2 per cent, to settle at Rs 3,281.7 apiece after the Tata group maker of jewellery and watches staged a weak performance for the March quarter. Its jewellery margin stood at 12.1 per cent for the three-month period. Zee Business analysts had estimated Titan's jewellery margin at 12.8 per cent. 

While Titan, SBI, Reliance and NTPC were the biggest drags on the Nifty and Sensex indices, gains in stocks such as TCS, HDFC Bank and Infosys helped the gauges stay afloat and avoid deeper cuts.

Britannia shares, on the other hand, zoomed by Rs 315.6, or 6.7 per cent, to close at Rs 5,060.8 apiece, after the Tiger biscuit maker reported a strong set of quarterly numbers with volume growth of 6.0 per cent margin of 19.3 per cent. Zee Business analysts had pegged the FMCG major's volume growth at 4-5 per cent and margin at 19 per cent. 

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) shares gave up their intraday gains to finish the session almost flat at Rs 4,607.1 apiece, after the hypermarket chain operator staged a strong performance for the fourth and final quarter of the financial year 2023-24. After the earnings announcement, JPMorgan upgraded DMart to 'overweight' from 'underweight' and raised its target for the stock by Rs 1,845 to Rs 5,400.

Paytm parent One97 Communications' shares slumped 5.0 per cent after the company said its President and Chief Operating Officer Bhavesh Gupta resigned.

Investors awaited more corporate results for domestic cues, with companies such as Godrej Consumer Products, Lupin and Marico scheduled to report their earnings for the January-March quarter later in the day. 

Godrej Consumer Products shares declined 1.7 per cent to settle at Rs 1,230 apiece ahead of the FMCG giant's quarterly numbers due later in the day. 

Overall market breadth favoured the bears in a big way, with an advance-decline ratio of 1:2 as 1,294 stocks rose for the day against the 2,627 that declined on BSE. 

Global markets

European shares began the day on a positive note, with the pan-continental STOXX 600 index quoting 0.3 per cent higher at the last count.

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