After opening deep in the red, Indian share markets recovered most of the losses as the session progressed but still ended on a negative note.

Benchmark indices fell today after a four-session rally, as worries about high crude oil prices and inflation returned.

Further, the sentiment was dampened after overnight data showed the US consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest since February 2021.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex dipped 150 points, ending 0.3% lower.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty fell 51 points, ending at 15,800.

NTPC, Reliance, and Sun Pharma were among the top gainers today.

HUL, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finserv were among the top losers today.

The broader markets ended in the red as the BSE Mid Cap index fell 0.7% while the BSE Small Cap index lost 0.3%.
Among sectoral indices, buying was seen in the auto sector, power sector, and energy sector while stocks in the banking sector, IT sector, and FMCG sector witnessed most of the selling.

Shares of Voltamp Transformers and Phoenix Mills hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a negative note today.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell by 0.9%, while the Hang Seng was down 1.9%. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.4%.

The SGX Nifty was trading 0.5% lower at the time of writing.

The rupee is trading at 78.98 against the US$.

Gold prices are currently trading down 0.1% at Rs 50,750 per 10 grams.

In news from the automobile sector, as per an article in The Economic Times, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) have emerged as the fastest-growing segment in India's passenger vehicle industry in the first five months of this year.

As per estimates, as many as 138,322 MPVs were sold in the local market from January-May 2022, up 54% from a year earlier.

Sales of SUVs increased 21% to 565,384 units in the same period. In the year 2021, sales of SUVs had grown 62% to 1,147,227 units, faster than MPVs which posted a 32% increase.

The market share of MPVs in India's passenger vehicle sales has also increased to 9.2% in the first five months of 2022 from 6.8% a year earlier.

Maruti is a dominant force to reckon with in this segment.

Note that auto stocks have seen a sharp rally over the past few days as commodity prices have come down.

Hero MotoCorp has gained around 10% in a week while Bajaj Auto has also rallied.

Bajaj Auto shares gained this week post its buyback announcement.

It remains to be seen whether this rally is here to stay or will it be short-lived.

In news from the banking sector, private sector banks were under pressure today.

Shares of AU Small Finance Bank, RBL Bank, and Bandhan Bank fell up to 10% intraday today on profitability concerns.

Yesterday, chartist Brijesh Bhatia shared an update on banking stocks and explained why the Bank Nifty bulls are losing momentum.

(Click on image to enlarge)

 According to Brijesh, the reversal from average is a sign the bulls are losing momentum. This might create an opportunity for bears.

Also speaking of the banking sector, are you wondering if it is a good time to buy banking stocks as the central bank has announced another hike in interest rates?

Look at the NPA levels which are currently at 5-year lows, but are still a substantial 6% of the overall loan book.

For now, higher lending rates have offered a bigger margin to banks. Lending rates have gone up but deposit rates are yet to catch up.

So, for a few quarters, higher net interest margins will make the banks look healthy.

Moving on to news from the commodity space, the rupee weakened to a new low against the US dollar today as India's share markets tumbled and as overseas investors showed no signs of letting up on sales of Indian equities.

Even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was said to be intervening in the foreign exchange market around current dollar/rupee levels, currency dealers expect the rupee to soon breach the 79 per US dollar mark.

So far in 2022, the rupee has shed around 5.8% against the dollar as higher US interest rates and a surge in global commodity prices have clouded the outlook on the currency.

Stay tuned for more from this space as we bring out which stocks will benefit from a depreciating rupee.