The domestic equity benchmarks ended with steep losses on Friday. Banks, financial shares and realty shares dragged. On the other hand, IT shares bucked the trend. Negative global cues triggered profit selling in domestic shares following recent steep gains. The Nifty 50 index jumped 3.31% in the past eight trading sessions.

The recent resurgence in the US dollar index also spooked investors. A spike in the dollar index could impact capital flows to emerging markets such as India. On Thursday, FPIs were net sellers of domestic stocks worth Rs 1706 crore.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 651.85 points or 1.08% to 59,646.15. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 198.05 points or 1.10% to 17,758.45.

Larsen & Toubro (up 2.20%), Infosys (up 0.93%) and TCS (up 0.12%) supported the indices.

Tata Steel (down 2.27%), Bajaj Finance (down 2.53%), Bajaj Finserv (down 3.08%) and Indusind Bank (down 3.82%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.27% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.93%.

The market breadth was negative. On the NSE, 1427 shares rose and 1981 shares fell. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

The volatility index, India VIX, surged over 5% to 18.28, indicating heightened volatility in the market.

Economy:

The union government on Thursday (18 August) reduced the windfall tax on sale of locally produced crude oil to Rs 13,000 per tonne from Rs 17,750 a tonne earlier. The special additional excise duty on export of diesel has been increased from Rs 5 to Rs 6 per litre, and including a cess it would be Rs 7 per litre.

Besides, the government again imposed Rs 2 per litre tax on export of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) after scrapping it earlier this month. Export of petrol will continue without the levy of the windfall tax. The new changes will come into effect from 19 August 2022, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) said in its notification.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.2639 as compared with 7.242 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee fell against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee stood at 79.84, compared with its previous close of 79.64.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2022 settlement shed 0.17% to Rs 51,517.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.38% to 107.89.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2022 settlement fell $1.98 or 2.05% to $94.61 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 268 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Friday, as investors track the course for monetary policy and continue to digest corporate earnings reports.

Investor sentiment has been tepid since mid-week after minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policymakers would not consider pulling back on interest rate hikes until inflation came down substantially.

US stocks ended higher Thursday as an upbeat sales forecast from Cisco Systems helped to lift the technology sector, while data showed the economy remained relatively strong.

Sales of previously occupied US homes slowed for the sixth consecutive month in July. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales fell 5.9% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) rose 3.09% after the company said it has floated tender for appointing consultant for digital data monetisation.

Wipro shed 0.51%. The company announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to deliver Service Integration and Management (SIAM) Services to HM Treasury (HMT). The service will enable seamless integration of IT services across multi-functional suppliers and partners, enhancing the user experience across HMT and its Arm's Length Bodies.

SecMark Consultancy hit an upper circuit limit of 20% at Rs 188.20 after the company said its board will consider a bonus share issue on 23 August 2022. The board will also consider the proposal of migrating the company from SME platform of BSE to main board of BSE and listing on the main board of National Stock Exchange of India.

Metropolis Healthcare slipped 2.54%. The company released Vijender Singh from the position of CEO from the closing of business hours of 17 August 2022. Further, Metropolis Healthcare said it has appointed a talent search agency and has begun the process of finding a suitable candidate for the position of CEO.

Greenpanel Industries gained 0.67%. Rating agency ICRA upgraded the long term ratings of the company to A+ (stable) and short term ratings to A1+, from A and A1, respectively.

NHPC added 0.72%. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Investment Board Nepal (IBN), Govt. of Nepal at Kathmandu, Nepal, for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) and development of two hydropower projects namely West Seti (750 MW) and Seti River 6 project (450 MW) in Nepal.

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