Sensex, Nifty turn positive; Infosys down nearly 3% ahead of Q4 results

Stock markets today:  Benchmark indices, S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 turned positive at the fag-end of the session on April 13. Intense selling was seen in technology stocks. Index heavyweights Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, and Wipro were among the top losers. 

Volatility index India Vix was trading 0.83 per cent lower at 12.17 levels.

Among buzzing stocks, AU Small Finance Bank jumped nearly 16 per cent to touch a day’s high of Rs 671.85 per share on the BSE intraday. This is quite near to its 52-week high of Rs 732.90 apiece, touched on April 21, 2022. The shares were in demand after the Reserve Bank of India approved the reappointment of the MD and CEO for a period of three years.

FMCG behemoth ITC has been hovering around Rs 400 levels, which analysts see it as an important psychological level. The stock earlier this week on April 11, 2023, touched a fresh lifetime high of Rs 398.20 per share on the BSE. On Thursday, ITC shares were volatile and trading near the opening level of Rs 395 per share, up around 0.5 per cent as compared to the previous day’s closing of Rs 393.5 apiece on the BSE.

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Global Markets

Asian stocks struggled on Thursday, dragged by selling in Hong Kong tech shares, while the dollar was under pressure and short-dated bonds were firm as softening U.S. inflation seemed to suggest the U.S. rate hike cycle was nearing its end. Overnight data showed US consumer prices barely rose in March. The annual 5 per cent headline rise was the smallest since May 2021, Reuters reported. 

In the commodities market, oil prices retreated on Thursday after rising for two sessions, with investors still showing lingering concern over a possible U.S. recession and weaker oil demand. Brent crude fell 20 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $87.13 a barrel by 0352 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate slid 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $83.11.