Rupee Weakness Fuels Nifty IT Stocks; Nifty PSU Bank & Bank Indexes Retreat 

Mumbai, April 7: Tuesday’s sessionally strongest sectoral pack was Nifty IT index which zoomed 2.17% to 31,299 as traders jumped back into technology stocks with renewed interest amid rupee’s accelerated decline against US dollar. The local unit traded below the psychological 93-mark at 93.28 in early deals today — dragged by higher crude oil prices along with heavy selling by foreign investors and dollar buying amid escalating tensions between West Asian nations and Iran due to President Trump’s ‘receptive mind’ remarks over Tehran.

Rupee weakness is positive for Indian IT firms since the software exports are dollar-denominated; hence, a falling rupee means more rupees when converted back from dollars. Mphasis rallied 4.19% to ₹2,328, while Wipro jumped 3.29% to ₹203 after closing at ₹197 in the previous session. HCL Technologies climbed 2.74% to ₹1,441 from Monday’s closing of ₹1,403, TCS soared 2.35% to ₹2,532 from ₹2,473 and LTIMindtree added 2.40% to ₹4,410 against previous close of ₹4,307.

Nifty Realty Advances 1.55%; Led by Residential Stocks

Rupee decline kept the broader market largely subdued; however, Nifty Realty index managed to add 1.55% to 697 as selective buyers turned active on residential realty stocks amid expectation of interest rates holding steady and sustained housing demand. Prestige Estates rallied 3.07% to ₹1,219 from previous close of ₹1,183, while Oberoi Realty advanced 2.86% to ₹1,563 against Monday’s closing price of ₹1,519. Phoenix Limited gained 1.98% to ₹1,585, Godrej Properties rose 1.26% to ₹1,604 and Lodha advanced 1.30% to ₹719 versus previous close of ₹705, as each of these stocks recovered a part of their early session losses. DLF edged up 0.14% to ₹146.80 while Sobha inched higher by 0.05% to ₹508.15.

Nifty PSU Bank Index Dives 1.20%; State-run Banks Sold-off

After gaining 2.46% in the previous session, Nifty PSU Bank index turned negative and traded lower by 1.20% to 8,224 on strong selling detected in public sector banks. Bank of India crashed 4.32% to ₹136 from its previous closing price of ₹143, while Union Bank fell 2.30% to ₹170 against Monday’s closing price of ₹174. PNB declined 2.13% to ₹104, SBI dropped 0.90% to ₹1,023 from ₹1,032 and Canara Bank decreased by 0.98% to ₹129 as the entire index came under pressure due to profit booking witnessed after yesterday’s big rally and RBI’s move to tighten norms for bank business correspondents.

Nifty Midsmall Financial Services Index Dips 0.58% on RBI Announcement

Last-mile banking service providers including business correspondents will come under RBI scanner soon as the central bank in late Monday’s monetary policy announced its proposed framework for regulation of business correspondents of banks. As per the new norms suggested by RBI, business correspondents will now be regulated by banks under either BC-I or BC-II model based on their business focus area apart from keeping a track of customer interactions through BC-CMS (business correspondent customer management system) and providing satisfactory compensations for services availed. Such announcement made Nifty Midsmall Financial Services index sensitive as the players in the segment fear hike in regulatory compliances costs; the index slipped 0.58% to 18,931. Bank of India plunged 4.31% to ₹136, Bandhan Bank declined 2.40% to ₹148 and RBL Bank slipped 2.28% to ₹310. KFin Technologies dropped 1.97% and BSE Ltd declined 1.33% to ₹2,942 from previous close of ₹2,982, while Federal Bank was up by 0.99% at ₹274.

Nifty Consumer Durables Index Sinks Marginally by 0.34%

Most stocks under Nifty Consumer Durables index were trading with losses on the volatility witnessed in crude oil prices. The Nifty Consumer Durables index eased marginally by 0.34% to 34,093. Voltas dropped 2.63% to ₹1,219 from previous close of ₹1,252, PGEL decreased by 2.76% to ₹439 and Blue Star declined 1.91% to ₹1,535. Havells Industries was the only large cap stock in the index which jumped 2.06% to ₹1,231 against Monday’s closing price of ₹1,206. Dixon Technologies rose 0.90% to ₹10,098 and Amber Enterprises added 0.53% to ₹6,439.