Stock Market Volatile: Sensex Rises 185 Points, Nifty Holds 17,600. Adani Shares Plunge

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, ITC, UltraCemco, Infosys, IndusInd, Titan, Maruti were trading higher, while Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Asian Paints, NTPC, Tata Steel emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday opened trade lower as news on Adani Group FPO and weekly F&O expiry made investors jittery in early morning trade. The day after the presentation of the Union Budget, the domestic indices were oscillating between gains and losses tracking high volatility.

At 9.40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up by 185 points to 59,893, while the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,641, up 25 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, ITC, UltraCemco, Infosys, IndusInd, Titan, Maruti were trading higher. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Asian Paints, NTPC, Tata Steel emerged losers.

Among specific stocks, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, HDFC Life, SBI, UPL, and ICICI Bank tumbled up to 9.5 per cent on the bourses in early deals, capping gains on the frontline indices.

Within Adani Group, Adani Ports trimmed losses to 5 per cent after tanking 9.5 per cent in early deals. Moreover, Adani Enterprises fell 10 per cent, Adani Ports 9.5 per cent, Adani Power 5 per cent, Adani Green Energy 10 per cent, Adani Total Gas 10 per cent, and Adani Wilmar 5 per cent.

The development comes after Adani Enterprises decided to call-off its fully subscribed FPO late on Wednesday. Further, reports suggested that Citi Group's Wealth Unit has halted margin loans on Adani Securities.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 0.7 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty IT gained over 1 per cent, on the back of 2-per cent gain in tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index overnight. On the downside, the Nifty Metal index slipped 1.3 per cent.

In the previous session on Budget day, the S&P BSE Sensex ended 158 points down to 59,708, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 17,616, down 46 points. The NSE Nifty oscillated 263 points in the session to end 46 points lower at 17,616. Nifty closes in the red on Budget day for the first time in three years.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking a muted trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said investors preferred to stay on the sidelines as the US Fed policy statement was hawkish.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.81 against the dollar, then fell further to 81.86, registering a decline of 6 paise over its last close. It later pared its losses and was trading flat at 81.80 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 8 paise to close at 81.80 against the dollar after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.77 per cent to $83.48 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,785.21 crore, according to exchange data.