The benchmark indices hit a fresh intraday low in afternoon trade, dragged by IT, pharma and healthcare scrips. The Nifty once again slipped below the 17,800 mark.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 583.32 points or 0.97% at 59,515.50. The Nifty 50 index lost 157.30 points or 0.88% at 17,781.10.

Reliance Industries (RIL) (down 1.82%), Infosys (down 2.19%) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (down 2.12%) dragged the market.

Broader markets extended minor gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.03%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.22%.

Buyers outnumbered the sellers. On the BSE, 1,794 shares rose and 1,518 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (down 1.93%), Biocon (down 0.83%), Asian Paints (down 0.37%) and Bajaj Finserv (down 2.21%) will announce their quarterly results today.

COVID-19 Update:

In last 24 hours, India registered 3,17,532 new COVID-19 infections in a day, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday. The country reported 491 new deaths taking the death toll to 4,87,693. The country recorded 2,23,990 recoveries, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,58,07,029. The active cases comprise 5.03% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 93.69%, the ministry said.

Gainers & Losers:

Power Grid Corporation of India (up 3.15%), Coal India (up 2.14%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.71%), Grasim Industries (up 1.25%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 1.22%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Bajaj Finserv (down 2.21%), Housing Development Corporation (HDFC) (down 2.03%), Infosys (down 1.98%) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (down 1.93%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Bajaj Auto declined 3.40%. On a consolidated basis, the auto maker's net profit declined 16.70% to Rs 1,429.68 crore on 0.86% rise in net sales to Rs 8,805.50 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020. Bajaj Auto's profit before tax (PBT) declined 18.44% to Rs 1,788.36 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

On a standalone basis, the company's net profit fell 21.98% to Rs 1,214.19 crore on 1% decline in total revenue from operations to Rs 9,022 crore during the period under review. Operating profit fell 21% to Rs 1,334 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

EBITDA fell 20% year-on-year to Rs 1,405 crore in Q3 December 2021. EBITDA margin stood at 15.6% during the quarter, lower than 19.8% in the same quarter last year. As on 31 December 2021, surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 17,883 crore as against Rs 17,526 crore as on 30 September 2021.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Rallis India dropped 5.82%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 13.3% to Rs 39.56 crore on a 10.1% increase in net sales to Rs 628.08 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) skid 14.5% to Rs 53.07 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 62.05 crore in Q3 FY21.

UPL lost 0.24%. The company and other shareholders in Sinagro Produtos Agropecuarios SA., Brazil, have announced an agreement in which Bunge will acquire a 33% stake in Sinagro, UPL's associate firm, to strengthen its grain orientation strategy in Brazil. Sinagro is a major reseller of grains and agricultural products with a significant presence in Brazil's 'Cerrado' savanna region. Bunge is a major player in sourcing, processing and supplying oilseed and grain products and ingredients.

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