Nifty Below 8,300 Mark, Fiscal Deficit in Feb, Maruti Suzuki Sales, and Top Cues in Focus Today

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Indian share markets extended losses in the first trading session of FY21 on Wednesday. Losses were seen as the number of coronavirus cases in the country continued to rise.

Benchmark indices witnessed selling pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, as investors panicked over the worst quarter ever experienced and turned risk averse amid heightened fears of economic depression, sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

All sectoral indices ended on a negative note, with stocks in the IT sector, banking sector and telecom sector, leading the losses.

At the closing bell on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 1,203 points (down 4.1%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 334 points (down 3.9%).

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 2.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

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And here's some data from Apurva Sheth, editor of Breakout Profits...

Worst Quarter Ever for Sensex

Here's what Apurva wrote about the same...

• Sensex ended first quarter of calendar year 2020 today at 29,468 down by 28.6%. This is the worst quarterly performance for the Sensex since 1992. The June quarter of 1992 ended with a cut of 28.1%. In 2008, the December quarter ended with a drop of 25%.
  
  We have broken all the past records and are living in an unprecedented environment. A lot could change in our lives once the crisis is over including the way you invest. Are you prepared for it?

To track such data on a daily basis and get our latest views on stock markets and more, you can join our Telegram channel here.

Top Stocks in Focus Today

From the pharma sector, Biocon share price will be in focus today as the company's insulin manufacturing facility in Malaysia has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator.

Jubilant Life Sciences share price will also be in focus as the company's wholly owned subsidiary - Jubilant Pharma has received the EIR with voluntary action indicated status for its Solid Dosage Facility at Salisbury, Maryland USA in respect of the inspection conducted by the USFDA from February 24, 2020 to February 28, 2020.

Market participants will be tracking shares of public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) as the government's proposed PSB merger scheme came into effect from April.

The consolidation, that will merge ten PSBs into four, comes at a time when the country and financial system is grappling with adverse fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and United Bank of India (UBI) will merge into PNB.

Mumbai-headquartered Union Bank, on the other hand, will absorb Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank. Bengaluru-headquartered Canara Bank will take Syndicate Bank, and Indian Bank will acquire Allahabad Bank.

As per reports, each of these amalgamated entities with scale and national reach would have a business of over Rs 8 trillion.

Following the consolidation, there will be seven large public sector banks (PSBs), and five smaller ones.

Fiscal Deficit at 135% of Budget Estimates in February

In another development, the government's fiscal deficit touched 135.2% of the full-year target at February-end mainly due to slower pace of revenue collections.

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit or the gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 10,364.9 billion, the data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed.

During February, there was hardly any impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

However, it would be very much visible when CGA releases the numbers for the entire fiscal.

The government aims to restrict the fiscal deficit at 3.8% of the GDP or Rs 7.1 trillion in 2019-20.

The deficit was 134.2% of 2018-19 Budget Estimate (BE) in the corresponding period.

Maruti Suzuki Sales Down 47% YoY

Maruti Suzuki reported a 47% year-on-year fall in its total sales during March to 83,792 units, as automakers in the country were forced to suspend operations amid a nationwide lockdown aimed to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country's largest passenger car manufacturer ended FY 2019-20 with total sales of 1.563 million units, down 16.1% from 1.862 million in the previous fiscal.

The company said that sales of March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 due to suspension of operations from March 22 in line with national policy.

The company sold 76,976 vehicles last month, 47.4% less than 145,000 in March last year. Export sales were down 55% to 4,712 units from 10,463 in the year-ago period.

In the domestic market, light commercial vehicle sales were down 71.5% to 736 units in March 2020 compared to 2,582 units in March 2019.

Sales of the company's popular models such as Swift, Baleno, WagonR, and Dzire among others, saw a decline of 51%, YoY.

In the mini category, where it sells Alto and S-Presso, the company reported sales of 15,988 units, down 5%.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

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Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

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Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers