The domestic equity benchmarks traded with substantial losses in the early afternoon. The Nifty dropped below the 22,150 mark. IT shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 494.59 points or 0.67% to 72,905.34. The Nifty 50 index declined 130.25 points or 0.58% to 22,142.25.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.50%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,183 shares rose and 1,491 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

India is gearing up for its election in 2024. The BJP is looking to consolidate its grip on power as it aims for a historic third term while a band of opposition parties, including the Congress, has formed a united front called INDIA to deny PM Modi another victory. The elections will occur in 7 phases, starting on 19 April and ending on 1 June. The Lok Sabha elections 2024 results will declared on 4 June.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.82% to 12.57. The Nifty 25 April 2024 futures were trading at 22,194, at a premium of 51.75 points as compared with the spot at 22,142.25.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 April 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 51.7 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 50.9 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index dropped 1.62% to 33,904.80. The index fell 3.93% in three consecutive trading sessions.

LTIMindtree (down 2.69%), Infosys (down 2.43%), Coforge (down 2.31%), Mphasis (down 1.31%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.18%), L&T Technology Services (down 1.13%), HCL Technologies (down 1.11%), Wipro (down 0.84%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.8%) and Persistent Systems (down 0.75%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sterlite Technologies rallied 6.56% after the company announced that it has raised Rs 1000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) route.

Happy Forgings advanced 4.77% after the company announced that it has secured a major order from a leading global Tier 1 manufacturer of automobile driveline components and systems.

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