Sensex closes 152 pts lower, Nifty at 16,280; IT top gainer; metals, realty drag

The Indian rupee depreciated to 74.46 against the US dollar after opening on a weak note at 74.40 against the dollar on Tuesday. The domestic currency fell to 74.46, registering a fall of 20 paise over its previous close. The EUR/INR pair was trading in the range of 87.29-87.31 in Tuesday's deals. (Read here)

"The markets climbed well above the 16,300 mark and seemed all poised to close above it too. However there was a sharp and nervous sell off mid day which brought the index close to 16,200. We recovered well but did not close above the 16,300 level. Once we are successful in doing so, we will witness a rally to 16,600 as the next target for the Nifty."

The Sensex closed at 54,554.66, up 151.81 points, or 0.28%, while Nifty was at 16,280.10, down 21.85 points, or 0.13%. Financials gain, PSU banks drag. On the 30-share Sensex, Bharti Airtel Tech Mahindra, HDFC, and 12 other stocks closed in green, while Tata Steel, ITC, PowerGrid, and 12 other stocks closed in red.

Jindal Steel and Power registered a staggering ten-fold rise in its consolidated profit during the June quarter of this fiscal. The Indian steelmaker posted consolidated net profit of ₹2,515.71 crore during the quarter under review, as opposed to ₹235.71 crore in the year-ago period.

The June quarter marked exemplary performance by all businesses including steel and overseas mines and minerals businesses, JSPL said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. (Read here)

The government is monitoring fuel prices in the country while having taken several steps to control inflation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament on Tuesday. The minister, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, acknowledged that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy committee had in June pointed out that the rising trajectory of international commodity prices, especially of crude, together with logistics costs, pose upside risks to the inflation outlook. (Read here)

Coal India on Tuesday reported a Q1 consolidated net profit at ₹3,170 crore, up 52% as compared to ₹2,078 crore in the same quarter last year. The company's total revenue from operations rose nearly 37% to ₹25,282 crore as against ₹18,487 crore year-on-year (YoY). The miner's production during the quarter stood at 123.98 million tonnes as compared to 121 mt in the year-ago quarter whereas the offtake stood at 160.44 million tonnes versus 120.8 mt.

Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals' stock was trading at ₹442.90 each, down 5.00% at 2:45 pm. The company reported consolidated Q1 net profit of ₹1.28 billion compared to ₹1.20 billion a year ago. Q1 revenue stood at ₹19 billion compared to ₹13.82 billion a year ago. Q1 ebitda stood at ₹2.9 billion compared to ₹2.72 billion a year ago.

Digital payment service provider Pine Labs, which is preparing for its US-listing over the next 18 months, on Tuesday said it has appointed CRED founder Kunal Shah to the board of its company. The appointment comes a month after the startup closed its latest round of funding at $600 million led by private equity majors--Fidelity Management and Research Co, BlackRock, Ishana, Tree Line--taking its valuation to $3 billion. (Read here)

Gold on Tuesday rebounded from sharp sell-offs in the last two sessions as a dollar rally cooled, although fears of a sooner-than-expected U.S. interest rate hike capped further gains. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,736.65 per ounce by 659 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,737.10. "We are seeing some short-covering taking place right now in the market after correction post-U.S. payrolls data," said Kunal Shah of commodities trader Nirmal Bang Commodities in Mumbai. (Reuters(

-SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund unit on Tuesday posted a 236 billion yen ($2.14 billion) profit in the first quarter after gains from listing portfolio companies were offset by falling shares in firms like e-retailer Coupang Inc.

The Japanese conglomerate posted record annual profit in May with executives pointing to further upside from Vision Fund investments such as Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Global Inc and "Uber for trucks" startup Full Truck Alliance Co Ltd. Those companies listed in New York during the quarter but Chinese regulatory action has subsequently hammered valuations, underscoring SoftBank's China risk even as the group seeks to reduce dependence on its largest asset, a stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (Reuters)

State-owned NBCC Ltd on Tuesday said that banks have shown interest in providing funds to complete the stalled projects of defunct Amrapali group.

On July 23, 2019, the Supreme Court ordered cancellation of the registration of Amrapali Group under real estate law RERA. The court had directed NBCC to complete the stalled projects of the group. In a statement, NBCC said that the monitoring committee appointed by the Supreme Court convened a meeting on Monday with nationalised and private banks to discuss the financing for Amrapali Projects. NBCC's Executive Director was present in the meeting.

Total assets under management (AUM) of global digital assets hit the $50 billion level last week, the highest since mid-May, as crypto prices made a sharp recovery. However, despite bullish moves, crypto digital assets logged a fifth straight week of outflows totalling $26 million, according to digital asset manager CoinShares. (Read here)

Motherson Sumi Systems' stock was trading at ₹226.30 each, down 1.99% at 2 pm. The auto parts maker reported Q1 consolidated net profit of ₹2.9 billion. Q1 ebitda stood at ₹12.2 billion compared to ₹16.25 billion in the previous quarter. Q1 ebitda margin stood at 7.6% compared to 9.58% in the previous quarter.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took exception to "parallel debate" on social media by petitioners who are seeking a court-monitored probe into the reports of the government allegedly using Israeli software Pegasus to spy on politicians, activists, and journalists. A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Surya Kant asked the petitioners to refrain from indulging in parallel debates outside the Court on social media platforms and told them to have faith in the system. There has to be some discipline when the court is examining the matter, if they have some points to raise, they can do so by filing an affidavit, the Bench told counsels appearing for petitioners in the case. (ANI)

RIL is eyeing a bid for Deutsche Telecom's Dutch subsidiary, Bloomberg Quint reported citing people familiar with the matter. Deutsche Telekom is seeking around $5.9 billion for the unit.

Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra said on Tuesday it was inspecting and replacing fluid pipes in some of its pickup trucks made between January 2020 and February 2021 for suspicion of improper assembly. The inspection and replacement is limited to 29,878 vehicles. (Read here)

JLL, India’s largest real estate consultancy firm, on Monday announced its entry into the country’s secondary residential market via a strategic partnership with Zapkey, a Propstack subsidiary. With this first-of-its-kind association, JLL aims to reach out to customers struggling to make a buy-side or a sell-side transaction in the rather unorganised secondary, or resale, residential market. (Read here)