Sensex, Nifty take a breather after 4-day gains; AU SFB tanks 7%

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices opened lower on Wednesday morning, in line with other Asian markets, as optimism over easing Covid restrictions in China was offset by data showing weak consumer confidence in the US.

US consumer confidence fell sharply in June, following a decline in May, as concerns over high inflation left US consumers anticipating weaker economic growth in the second half of the year, the US Conference Board said overnight.

At 9.30 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 345 points or 0.65 per cent lower at 52,816. Nifty50 was trading at 15,771.95, down 60 points or 0.38 per cent.

"Even though there is no consensus on whether the US economy will slip into recession or not, there are clear signs of the economy slowing down. But the labour market continues to be strong in the US and unemployment is low at 3.6 per cent. In this context of conflicting signals, markets are likely to remain choppy," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex stocks, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined 2.38 per cent to Rs 2,263.05. IndusInd Bank declined 2.43 per cent to Rs 797.50. Wipro slipped 1.94 per cent to Rs 418.70. Bajaj Finserv, Titan Company, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Axis Bank dropped up to 2 per cent.

Reliance Industries was down 0.86 per cent to Rs 2,507.30. Bernstein has raised the target on this stock to Rs 3,360 from Rs 2,830, as it estimated FY23 EPS of Rs 154, which was 29 per cent above consensus estimates.

AU Small Finance Bank declined 6.67 per cent to Rs 581.05 after Credit Suisse initiated its coverage on AU Small Finance Bank with a target price of Rs 510, 18 per cent below the last close of Rs 621.90.

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