Indian equity benchmark indices opened gap-down on Monday with the Nifty breaching the 17,000 level as losses in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks pulled the indices lower.
Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, announced plans to ban exports of the most widely used vegetable oil on Friday, in a shock move that could further inflame surging global food inflation. The hit is severe for India, which is the world’s largest importer of edible oils, and specifically is the highest importer of palm oil and soyabean oil.
The 30-share index Sensex started 719.96 points or 1.26 percent lower at 56,477.19 and the broader Nifty50 index was down 223.70 points or 1.3 percent to 16,948.25 at open.
Except for ICICI Bank and NTPC, all other Sensex stocks were in the red. Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC twins, Wipro, Tata Steel, and Tech Mahindra, down up to 3 percent, were the top laggards.
Power Grid Corp was the additional gainer on the Nifty while Britannia Industries, Apollo Hospitals, BPCL and IndusInd Bank were additional losers.
ICICI Bank shares were in focus after the private lender delivered a robust performance for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022, beating Street estimates. Net profit jumped 59.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 7,018.7 crore.
The broader markets also opened in the red. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell up to 1.2 percent.
The halting of shipments of the cooking oil and its raw material, widely used in products ranging from cakes to cosmetics, could raise costs for packaged food producers globally and force governments to choose between using vegetable oils in food or for biofuel. Indonesia counts for more than half of the global palm oil supply.
Tatva Chintan Pharma, Century Textiles, Eveready Industries, GMDC and Mahindra CIE Automotive are among those slated to post their respective Jan-Mar earnings today.
Global stocks
Shares in Asia-Pacific fell on Monday following a sell-off on Wall Street on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225′s dropped 2.08 percent in early trade while the Topix declined 1.79 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi slid 1.25 percent.
Wall Street tumbled more than 2.5 percent on Friday, ensuring the three main benchmarks ended in negative territory for the week, as increased certainty around aggressive near-term interest rate rises took its toll on investors.
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