Profit booking after recent gains subdues Indian stocks

New Delhi [India], May 18 : New Delhi [India], May 18 : The key indices of the domestic equity market ended in the negative territory, extending the loss for the third consecutive day, amid fresh selling. Some profit bookings were seen after the recent bull run.

Sensex and Nifty lost around 0.2-0.3 per cent each.

"Positive developments in debt-ceiling negotiations in the US had a favourable impact on global market sentiments. However, the domestic market experienced a subdued mood in the latter half, mainly attributed to the mixed earnings reported by sector majors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Optimism in global markets gave domestic indices a positive start. Nifty opened higher but gradually drifted into negative territory led by profit booking in index heavyweights. The index closed near the day's low with a loss of 52 points at 18130 levels. Except for Financials, all sectors ended in red. Indian markets were dragged as profit booking emerged in SBI and ITC despite posting strong results," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The largest lender in the country State Bank of India on Thursday posted an 83.18 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 16,695 crore, against Rs 9,113.53 crore in the year-ago period.

ITC registered a 22.7 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 5,225 crore in March 2023 quarter. In the same quarter last year, it was Rs 4,260 crore. For the entire 2022-23, consolidated net profits were at Rs 19,428 crore versus Rs 15,486 crore 2021-22.

The company's Board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.75 and a special dividend of Rs 2.75 for 2022-23. All eligible members will be paid dividends between August 14 and 17.

Taking into account the February 3 dividend worth Rs 6 per share, the total dividend payment per share goes up to Rs 15.50. A dividend is a reward that companies often provide to their shareholders, though not mandatory, from a portion of their earnings.

"Nifty could not hold on to the opening gains despite a favourable backdrop of uppish global markets. As we come closer to the end of the Q4 results season, traders take advantage of the buzz in individual stocks to unload their holdings," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

According to Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking, "Mostly sectoral indices ended lower wherein realty, pharma and FMCG were among the top losers however some resilience in banking and financials capped the damage. The broader indices too witnessed profit taking and shed nearly half a percent each."

"It is healthy consolidation so far however volatility across sectors is keeping traders on their toes. We feel it's prudent to stay light and utilize this phase to gradually accumulate quality stocks from top performing sectors viz. banking, financials, FMCG and auto."