At 14:40 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 738.37 points or 0.99% to 73,506.53. The Nifty 50 index declined 206.05 points or 0.91% to 22,313.35.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.37%, while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.35%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 886 shares rose and 2,996 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's wholesale inflation rate quickened to three-month high of 0.53% in February, mainly driven by food and primary articles, data released by the commerce ministry on April 15 showed.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation stood at 0.2 percent in February and 1.34% in March 2023. Food prices rose 4.65% as compared with an increase of 4.09% in February.

For the FY24, the wholesale inflation index fell 0.7% versus a 9.41% rise a year ago.

Retail inflation eased to a five-month low in March on the marginally moderating food inflation, while industrial output growth rebounded to a four-month high in February, led by robust infra sectors and consumer durables output.

India's retail inflation eased to 4.85% on an annual basis in March as against 5.09% in the previous month, data showed on Friday. Meanwhile, the industrial production surged to a four-month high of 5.7% in February compared with 4.3% in the previous month.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index dropped 1.64% to 21,169.25. The index fell 1.98% in past two trading sessions.

Shriram Finance (down 2.47%), Power Finance Corporation (down 2.43%), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (down 2.26%), Bajaj Finserv (down 2.25%), ICICI Bank (down 2.14%), REC (down 2.11%), SBI Cards & Payment Services (down 1.91%), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 1.83%), Bajaj Finance (down 1.76%) and SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.71%) edged lower.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.15% to 7.168 from previous close of 7.179.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.4375, compared with its close of 83.3825 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 July 2024 settlement slipped 0.19% to Rs 71,935.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.13% to 105.90.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 1.36% to 4.560.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2023 settlement fell 99 cents or 1.09% to $89.46 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) slipped 2.43%. The company reported 11.24% increase in total throughput to 12,44,798 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in Q4 FY24 as compared with 11,19,034 TEUs recorded in Q4 FY23.

Ambuja Cements shed 0.79%. The cement major said that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire My Home Group's 1.5 million tones per annum (MTPA) Cement Grinding Unit in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. The acquisition estimated at a total value of Rs. 413.75 Crores through internal accruals will aid in enhancing the coastal footprint across southern markets of Tamil Nadu and Kerela.

Patanjali Foods declined 0.91%. The FMCG company informed that it has recorded a steady quarterly performance led by consistent result in both the edible oil segment and the food & FMCG segment.

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