After opening the day on a flat to positive bias, Indian share markets succumbed to losses as the session progressed and ended deep in the red.

Benchmark indices tanked sharply today amidst concerns of an impending recession and a worsening Covid-19 situation in China.

The focus is now on the minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest policy meeting, due to be released later in the day, as investors seek to understand the central bank's assessment of inflation and growth.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood inched lower by 635 points (down 1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 186 points (down 1%).

Divis Lab, Apollo Hospitals, and Cipla were among the top gainers today.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finserv on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,263, down by 164 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets settled on a negative note. The BSE MidCap inched 1.4% lower while the BSE SmallCap index dived 2.2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the energy sector, telecom sector, finance sector, and power sector witnessing most of the selling.

Meanwhile, stocks in the healthcare sector and IT sector witnessed buying.

Among the best pharma stocks, Divi's Lab and Cipla surged 4%.

Shares of Abbott India and Axis Bank hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Hang Seng inched higher by 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite index ended lower by 0.2%. The Nikkei edged 0.7% lower.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note. Dow futures are trading up by 0.8% while Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 82.8 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.2% at Rs 55,000 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 69,500 per kg.

Here are five reasons why Indian share markets plunged today.

#1 Volatility ahead of the release of minutes of RBI Policy

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting held earlier this week. Traders will be looking for the cues on the rate hike trajectory.

#2 Surge in VIX

The fear gauge in India shot up rapidly after a sudden selloff. India's VIX jumped as much as 12% to hit 15.4 levels, which spooked and jittered the sentiments of the traders.

#3 Rupee factor

The rupee has been falling for quite some time now. Today, continuing the trend, the rupee depreciated 6 paise to 82.8 against the dollar, tracking the strength of the dollar and a negative trend in domestic equities.

The rupee's depreciation often leads to the discontinuation of FPI buying in India.

#4 Selling in heavyweight stocks

The benchmark indices fell over 1% driven by weakness across heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki, and ICICI Bank, among many other stocks.

#5 Covid worries

Covid problems have once again started to mount up with cases increasing in China. This sudden spurt has worried investors across the globe.
 

Glenmark Pharma Launches combination drugs

In news from the pharma sector, shares of Glenmark Pharma jumped 7% today.

Glenmark Pharma today announced the launch of its triple fixed-dose combination Teneligliptin with Pioglitazone and Metformin in India for diabetic patients.

This fixed-dose combination offers patients with Type 2 diabetes the convenience of once-daily dosing to improve their glycemic control.

It is priced at Rs 14.9 per day, thereby reducing the daily cost of therapy by 40%, and making it more affordable to the masses.

It has been launched under the brand name Zita-PioMet.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a global pharmaceutical company with a presence across specialty, generics, and OTC businesses.

Glenmark occupies a leadership position in the Indian market for the discovery of new molecules.

The company has operations in more than 80 countries around the globe.

In 2022 so far, shares of Glenmark are down by 16.1%. While in the past five years, the stock has experienced a fall of 22.3%.

BPCL approves Rs 353.6 billion capex plan

Moving on to news from the energy sector, BPCL's share price was in focus today.

State-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has approved a financial plan and capital expenditure worth Rs 353.6 bn in a phased manner.

The capex will be spent on laying the piped gas network, building, and operations of eight City Gas Distribution projects authorized to the company under the PNGRB CGD bid round 11 and 11 A.

These decisions were taken after a two-day board meeting that began on 20 December 2022

The company also added that it is now developing CGD networks in 25 geographical areas including the new CGDs and will cover 62 districts in 14 states.

It is India's second-largest oil marketing company and third-largest refining company with a network of 19,000 outlets.
 

GAIL to strengthen global presence with new LNG carrier

Further, in news from the energy sector, state-owned GAIL and Japanese transport firm Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) signed a time charter contract for a new building Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier and joint ownership of an existing LNG carrier.

The new building vessel will be the second MOL group LNG carrier serving GAIL.

Through this partnership, MOL will provide more reliable services. It will lead MOL to extend services even further against the demand that will grow in the future.

It will strengthen its presence and business base in India, where energy demand is increasing.

GAIL is constantly expanding its global presence through its participation in projects/ventures along the natural gas value chain.

With a global LNG portfolio of around 14 metric million tons per annum, GAIL has emerged as one of the leading global LNG players and is actively involved in the LNG trading business in the international market.

More By This Author: