Key equity barometers pared some losses but traded with minor cuts in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered near the 18,250 mark. Trading was volatile due to expiry of May 2023 futures and options (F&O) contracts. PSU bank shares declined for the second consecutive session. At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 127.4 points or 0.21% to 61,646.38. The Nifty 50 index lost 31.35 points or 0.17% to 18,254.05. The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.20% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.24%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,749 shares rose and 1,675 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.002 as compared with previous close of 6.990.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.74, compared with its close of 82.68 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement fell 0.07% to Rs 59,818.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 103.99.

The United States 10-year bond yield jumped 1.04% to 3.756.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2023 settlement shed 74 cents or 0.94% to $77.62 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.71% to 3,959.10. The index slipped 1.22% in two trading sessions.

Indian Bank (down 2.36%), Bank of India (down 1.56%), Bank of Baroda (down 1.45%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 1.36%) and Punjab National Bank (down 1%), Canara Bank (down 0.63%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.63%), State Bank of India (down 0.62%) declined.

On the other hand, UCO Bank (up 0.38%) ,Central Bank of India (up 0.19%) and Union Bank of India (up 0.15%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dhanuka Agritech rallied 3.34% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 20.04% to Rs 65.30 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Rs 54.40 crore in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations increased 16.63% year on year to Rs 371.22 crore in Q4 FY23.

Piramal Pharma soared 6.94% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 50.11 crore in Q4 FY23 as against a net loss of Rs 90.18 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations rose 26.08% quarter on quarter to Rs 2,163.58 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023. On a year on year (YoY) basis, the pharma firm's net profit tumbled 75% while revenue rose 2% in Q4 FY23.

Prudent Corporate Advisory Services jumped 8.70% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 81.5% to Rs 41.23 crore on 36.62% rise in total revenue from operations to Rs 176.97 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.