Sensex down 100 pts; SpiceJet up 7%, Gujarat-based PSUs shine

Equity markets began flat on the penultimate day of the expiry of the F&O contracts for April. The S&P BSE Sensex quoted at 60,164, up 34 points or 0.06 per cent. The Nifty50, meanwhile, was unchanged at 17,769.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index was in the red, while the BSE SmallCap index gained 0.15 per cent.

Individually, shares of Bajaj Auto dipped 1.37 per cent as the two-wheeler major posted a 2 per cent drop in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 1,433 crore in Q4FY23, despite 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in revenue to Rs 8,905 crore.

AU Small Finance Bank shares also fell 2.6 per cent. The lender reported 23 per cent YoY growth in its net profit to Rs 425 crore in Q4FY23, on the back of healthy growth in net interest income. Net interest income (NII), too, saw 30 per cent YoY rise to Rs 1,213 crore in the March quarter.

On the flipside, Gujarat-based PSUs, including Gujarat Alkalies, Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals, and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals, surged up to 9 per cent after the state govenrment announced a policy of minimum dividend payout, buyback, and bonus shares for its state PSUs including seven listed players.