As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 231.62 points or 0.35% to 65,397.62. The Nifty 50 index lost 82.05 points or 0.42% to 19,542.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.76%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,380 shares rose and 2,325 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

JSW Steel declined 1.39%. The steel major reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,760 crore in Q2 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 848 crore posted in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations grew 6.72% year on year (YoY) to Rs 44,584 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023. The growth was mainly driven by volumes and partially offset by lower sales realization.

Hindustan Zinc fell 1.88% after the company's net profit declined 35.49% to Rs 1,729 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with Rs 2,680 crore in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations during the quarter was Rs 6,791 crore, down 18.5% year on year, on account of significantly lower zinc prices, lower zinc and silver volumes and differential strategic hedging impact partly offset by higher lead and silver prices and favourable exchange rates.

ITC slipped 2.73%. The diversified conglomerate reported 10.3% rise in net profit to Rs 4,927 crore in Q2 FY24 from Rs 4,466 crore in Q2 FY23. Net revenue increased by 2.4% YoY to Rs 16,357 crore during the period under review.

The FMCG - Cigarettes segment revenue rose by 10.1% to Rs 7,658 crore. Excluding excise duty/NCCD on sales, the net revenue growth was 8.5% on YoY basis. The company commented that the Sharp escalation in costs of leaf tobacco and certain other inputs, along with increase in taxes was largely mitigated through improved mix, strategic cost management and calibrated pricing.

The revenue of the Hotels segment grew by 21.2% YoY to Rs 649 crore in Q2 FY24. The strong performance was driven by retail and MICE segments. Segment EBITDA margin expanded by 170 bps YoY to 30.7% driven mainly by higher RevPAR, curated packages, finest F&B offerings and strategic cost management initiatives.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined 1.92%. The FMCG major reported 3.86% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,717 crore on 3.53% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 15,027 crore in Q2 FY24 over Q2 FY23. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) delivered Underlying Volume Growth (UVG) of 2% in Q2 FY24.

Zomato rose 1.84%. Softbank is reportedly planning to sell around 1.1% stake in Zomato and mop up around Rs 1,000 crore via the block deal route.

Tata Motors fell 0.93% after the company and Freight Commerce Solutions (freight Tiger) have signed a securities subscription agreement (SSA) and a shareholders agreement (SHA) for the acquisition of 26.79% stake in freight Tiger for a consideration of Rs 150 crore. The SSA also includes a provision enabling Tata Motors to further invest Rs 100 crore over the next two years, at the then prevailing market value.

PTC India surged 5.89% after the company's board approved ONGC's bid to acquire its subsidiary PTC Energy for Rs 925 crore.

Indraprastha Gas slumped 11.90% following a downgrade by a foreign brokerage. The brokerage reportedly downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold' and reduced its target price to Rs 465 per share. This downgrade came after the Delhi government announced its electric vehicle (EV) policy, which requires cab aggregators and delivery service providers to transition to EVs by 2030.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia declined on Friday. The People's Bank of China kept its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.45%. The five-year benchmark loan rate was held at 4.2%.

US stocks ended lower on Thursday as Powell's comments and rising bond yields weighed on markets. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was still too high and would likely require lower economic growth. Powell also added that monetary policy was not yet too tight. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield traded as high as 4.996% on Thursday, inching closer to the well-followed 5% level that was last crossed in 2007.

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