FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty muted amid broad-based selling; Zomato slips over 2.5%

Stock market today: The Indian share market on Wednesday, March 6, was subdued amid broad-based selling and weak global cues. Asian stocks were trading lower ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair's congressional testimony and key US job data.

Last seen, the 30-scrip barometer traded 0.24 per cent, or 174.85 points, lower at 73,502.28, and the NSE Nifty slipped 0.22 per cent, or 49.4 points, 22,306.9. 

"A significant recent development is the liquidity in the banking system moving from deficit to surplus. This is positive for banks, particularly those that are facing constraints in raising deposits to match credit growth. The impact on the market would be the outperformance of Bank Nifty over Nifty," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 traded flat with a negative bias, whereas the Small Cap 100 traded lower. Nifty Bank dipped 0.19 per cent at 47,492.1. 

Dr. Vijayakumar added that another trend that has started is the underperformance of the small-cap index. This trend is also likely to continue since small-cap valuations continue to be excessive. The Nifty is likely to consolidate at around the present levels. Dips will be bought since institutional buying has been strong. Sentiments are a bit weak in the NBFC space due to the RBI’s restrictive actions against some NBFCs.

BUZZING STOCKS

Zomato shares were down over 2.5 per cent after 2.1 per cent equity changed hands via block deal.

Samvardhana Motherson International shares were down nearly 3 per cent after block deals.

JM Financial shares were down over 14 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a ban on the company. 

Mahanagar Gas shares were down nearly 11 per cent after CNG prices were cut by Rs 2.5 per kg.

G R Infraprojects shares were down over 3 per cent as promoters are likely to sell stakes to achieve the minimum shareholding. 

Conversely, Bharat Dynamics shares were up over 2 per cent as the board will consider a stock split and interim dividend in a meeting on March 21.

AAVAS Financiers shares were up over 2 per cent after Amansa Holdings (a non-promoter) bought 23.59 lakh (2.9 per cent) shares in the company.

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian equities eased on Wednesday in cautious trading, with Chinese stocks slipping as the lack of big stimulus measures from Beijing disappointed some investors, while gold and bitcoin eased after hitting record highs.

Traders are hesitant to place major bets ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that will be parsed to gauge if the U.S. central bank is ready to start cutting rates.

(With inputs from agencies.) 

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