The key equity benchmarks managed to pare some losses as they came off the day's low in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 18,250 mark. FMCG shares witnessed buying demand for fourth consecutive session. Trading was volatile today due to expiry of May 2023 futures and options (F&O) contracts. At 12:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 115.63 points or 0.19% to 61,658.15. The Nifty 50 index lost 33.35 points or 0.18% to 18,252.05. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.27%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,772 shares rose and 1,530 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.56% to 12.65. The Nifty 29 June 2023 futures were trading at 18,344.90, at a premium of 92.85 points as compared with the spot at 18,252.05.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 June 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 30.6 lakh contracts at the 19,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 40.3 lakh contracts were seen at 18,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.48% to 49,594.15. The index has gained 1.47% in four sessions.

ITC (up 1.64%), United Breweries (up 1.26%), Tata Consumer Products (up 0.96%), Dabur India (up 0.86%) and Nestle India (up 0.78%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.77%), Britannia Industries (up 0.54%), United Spirits (up 0.5%).

On the other hand, Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 1.38%), Varun Beverages (down 0.71%) and Marico (down 0.63%) moved lower.

Earnings Impact:

Shyam Metalics and Energy rose 2.11%. The company recorded 40% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 258.9 crore despite a 22% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,380.1 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals surged 7.03%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 3.29% to Rs 87.63 crore on 22.05% increase in net sales to Rs 762.32 crore in Q4 March 2023 over Q4 March 2022.

Gujarat Pipavav Port fell 3.97%. The company reported 30.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 97.32 crore in Q4 FY23 from Rs 74.43 crore posted in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations grew by 6.9% year on year to Rs 234.73 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India rose 2.03%. The company reported 78.8% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 101.21 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Q4 FY22. Net sales during the quarter rose by 24.9% YoY to Rs 976.94 crore.

Venus Pipes & Tubes added 0.44%. The company reported 66.4% jump in net profit to Rs 13.4 crore in Q4 FY23 from Rs 8.1 crore in Q4 FY22. Total revenue stood at Rs 176.3 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared to Rs 110.2 crore in Q4 FY22, growth of 60% YoY.