The benchmark indices continued to trade with minor losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below the 22,550 mark after hitting the day's high of 22,620.40 in early trade. Financial services shares slipped after gaining in the past five trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 133.48 points or 0.18% to 74,205.96. The Nifty 50 index lost 52.45 points or 0.23% to 22,517.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.77% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.63%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,192 shares rose and 1,377 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The second phase of voting, scheduled for April 26, encompasses 89 constituencies across 13 states and Union territories. The BJP seeks a third consecutive term, while the opposition, including the Congress, has united under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc to thwart PM Modi's re-election. The extensive Lok Sabha elections 2024 span seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with the results set to be announced on June 4.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.49% to 10.89. The Nifty 30 May 2024 futures were trading at 22,640.50, at a premium of 122.6 points as compared with the spot at 22,517.90.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 May 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 23.1 lakh contracts at the 22,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 35 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index declined 0.59% to 21,417.90. The index advanced 3.09% in the past five trading sessions.

Bajaj Finance (down 7.44%), Bajaj Finserv (down 3.42%), Shriram Finance (down 2.78%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.14%), State Bank of India (down 0.9%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 0.87%), SBI Cards & Payment Services (down 0.73%), ICICI Bank (down 0.5%), LIC Housing Finance (down 0.09%) and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (down 0.01%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wendt (India) added 2.80% after the company?s consolidated net profit jumped 4.61% to Rs 13.38 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 12.79 crore in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations jumped 21.56% to Rs 69.47 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 57.15 crore in Q4 FY23.

Olectra Greentech tumbled 4% after the company reported 49.2% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 13.71 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 27.01 crore in Q4 FY24. Net sales declined by 23.2% YoY to Rs 288.81 crore during the period under review.

Himadri Specialty Chemical gained 2.24% after its consolidated net profit jumped 51.01% to Rs 115.16 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 76.26 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations rose 14.39% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,176.95 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

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