Sensex slips 9 points, Nifty settles below 18,700; Shree Cement, CreditAccess Grameen fall up to 6%; RattanIndia Power up 20%

Indian equity benchmarks returned settled on a mixed today in a highly volatile trading session. Losses in state-owned lenders and energy stocks countered gains in consumer and pharma shares today. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack slipped 9 points or 0.01 per cent to close at 62,970; while the broader NSE Nifty index moved 26 points or 0.14 per cent higher to settle at 18,691. Mid and smallcap shares finished strong, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.92 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.62 per cent. Fear gauge India VIX rose 1.42 per cent to 11.40.

On the global front, most Asian shares fell today as crude prices rose on supply concerns due to a turmoil in Russia. Concerns surfaced over the weekend about the possible disruption of Russian oil supply after a challenge by the Russian mercenary group Wagner on Moscow, which was eventually averted. The move also raised questions about political stability in Russia.

Back home, selling pressure in select stocks such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), L&T, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank pulled the indices lower. The indices, however, trimmed some of their losses in fag-end trade helped by gains in ICICI Bank, Maruti, Infosys and Tata Motors.

"The global market exhibited a negative bias as concerns regarding economic growth emerged in light of the political instability in Russia. This instability led to an increase in oil prices, driven by worries over potential supply disruptions, given Russia's status as one of the largest oil producers. On the domestic front, the market experienced limited downside as the pharma and auto sectors provided support. Additionally, mid and small-cap stocks were seen recovering their positions following a recent sell-off, indicating a regained investor confidence in these segments," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Just two out of the 15 sectoral indices on NSE settled in the red. Sub-indices Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas underperformed the Nifty index by falling 0.18 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively. On the flip side, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables climbed 1.53 per cent, 0.68 per cent and O.90 per cent, respectively.

Shares of Shree Cement slumped 5.89 per cent today after a news report claimed that income tax (I-T) evasion amounting to Rs 23,000 crore was found in searches at multiple company locations. Also, CreditAccess Grameen, Aether Industries and Godfrey Phillips India fell up to 4.36 per cent.

In contrast, RattanIndia Power Ltd surged 20 per cent today after the company raised a loan of Rs 1,114 crore. RattanIndia Power, in an exchange filing, said that it has refinanced its senior debt in a Rs 1,114 crore transaction led by Kotak Mahindra Bank.

ICICI Securities also jumped 10.38 per cent as the domestic brokerage said its board would consider delisting its shares in a meeting on June 29.

"On the technical front, Nifty was erratic throughout the day, finishing near its initial levels and creating a doji on daily charts. For investors, the market is still buying on dips with a strict stop loss of 18,550. We can expect more downward pressure if Nifty slips below the suggested level," said Deven Mehata, Equity Research Analyst at Choice Broking.

Out of a total of 3,817 stocks that traded during the day, 1,862 settled with gains while 1,784 others ended lower. The rest 171 stocks stayed unchanged.

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