Market Volatility: Sensex and Nifty Marginal Gains, Sapphire Foods Profits Decline

9 Feb 2024 , 04:10 PM

Equity benchmark indices experienced volatility in Friday’s trade, with a significant selloff in midcap and smallcap indices, both falling over 2.5%.

At the time of writing, the Sensex was trading at ₹71,595, marking a 0.23% increase from the previous close. The Nifty was trading at ₹21,782, reflecting a 0.30% increase.

That is, Sensex and Nifty closed with marginal gains, with Sensex up 167.06 points (0.23%) at 71,595.49 and Nifty up 64.55 points (0.3%) at 21,782.50.

Top gainers included Grasim (5.93%), Vodafone Idea (5.41%), Zee Entertainment (1.15%), and ACC (4.90%). Meanwhile, top losers comprised Power Finance (-8.47%), Ramco Cements (-7.45%), Hind Copper (-6.70%), and REC (-5.38%).

Broader markets underperformed benchmarks, with Nifty Midcap 100 declining by 0.89% and Nifty Smallcap 100 by 1.40%.

BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices lost over 2%, reflecting investor profit-taking after a 6.5% rally this year.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) shares fell over 9% after reporting a 4.4% decline in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Over 350 companies announced their December quarter earnings on Friday, including Hero MotoCorp, Honasa Consumer, and Tata Power.

IndiGo and SpiceJet shares dropped on a report proposing route-specific airfare capping, with a parliamentary panel concluding airlines’ self-regulation was ineffective.

MRF, the tyre maker, reported a 191% YoY increase in net profit for the December quarter, reaching ₹509.71 Crore from ₹174.83 Crore.

Sapphire Foods India, operator of KFC and Pizza Hut, reports a larger-than-expected decline in quarterly profit. The Yum Brands franchisee’s consolidated net profit drops nearly 69% to 101.4 million rupees ($1.22 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31. The decline is attributed to domestic competition and reduced consumer spending on fast food amid inflation concerns. This marks the company’s third consecutive quarterly fall in profit.
 

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