Stock markets break 7-day rally to end lower; HUL drops 4 pc post-earnings
Mumbai, Apr 24 (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty reversed their seven-day uptrend and settled lower on Thursday amid profit-taking and disappointing fourth quarter earnings of Hindustan Unilever.
Selling in blue-chips ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and a largely muted trend in Asian and European equities also dragged the markets down.
The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 315.06 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 79,801.43. During the day, it dropped 391.94 points or 0.48 per cent to 79,724.55.
The NSE Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34 per cent to 24,246.70.
In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark gauge zoomed 6,269.34 points or 8.48 per cent and the Nifty jumped 1,929.8 points or 8.61 per cent.
From the Sensex firms, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) dropped 4 per cent after the firm reported a decline of 3.35 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,475 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2025, hit by lower margins.
Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were also among the laggards.
Nestle India Ltd on Thursday reported a 6.5 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 873.46 crore for March quarter of FY25 as the FMCG industry faced food inflation and moderation in urban consumption.
IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
"The domestic market witnessed mild profit-booking after the recent rally. Similarly, global markets too experienced selling pressure as the market participants scaled back the possibility of a quick resolution of tariff disputes between the US and China.
"FMCG majors' Q4 results were weak, impacted by subdued volumes and margin pressure, which led the sector to underperform," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
According to Bajaj Broking Research, "Benchmark indices snapped their seven-day winning streak, ending slightly lower. The Nifty opened on a subdued note and traded within a narrow range throughout the day, maintaining a corrective bias,"
The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.16 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.01 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty dropped 1.39 per cent, FMCG (0.82 per cent), teck (0.59 per cent), financial services (0.40 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.33 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.24 per cent) and power (0.22 per cent).
BSE commodities, healthcare, metal and services were the gainers.
As many as 2,015 stocks declined while 1,920 advanced and 151 remained unchanged on the BSE.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai SSE Composite ended in the positive territory.
European markets were quoting lower.
US markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.50 per cent, S&P 500 surged 1.67 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.07 per cent.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.03 per cent to USD 66.10 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,332.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark jumped 520.90 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 80,116.49, the highest closing level since December 18, on Wednesday. The Nifty rallied 161.70 points or 0.67 per cent to 24,328.95.
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Husband's extramarital affair not cruelty, abetment of suicide: Delhi HC
New Delhi, May 13 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said a man's extramarital affair does not amount to cruelty or abetment of suicide unless shown it harassed or tormented the wife.
Justice Sanjeev Narula said an extramarital relationship was not a ground to implicate the husband for dowry death in the absence of a nexus between the alleged relationship and dowry demand.
The court, as a result, granted bail to a man, who was arrested in a case under Sections 498A (cruelty)/304-B (dowry death) aside from Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of IPC, following the unnatural death of his wife in her matrimonial home on March 18, 2024, within nearly five years of marriage.
"The prosecution relies on materials to suggest that the applicant was involved in an extramarital relationship with a woman. Certain videos and chat records have been cited in support. However, even assuming such a relationship existed, the law is settled that an extramarital affair, per se, does not amount to not, cruelty under Section 498A IPC or abetment under Section 306 IPC, unless it is shown that the relationship was pursued in a manner calculated to harass or torment the deceased," the court held.
The verdict went on, "An extramarital relationship cannot be a ground to implicate the accused under Section 304B IPC. The Court held that harassment or cruelty should be linked to dowry demands or sustained mental cruelty that occurred 'soon before the death'."
The man had been in custody since March 2024, and the court noted his continued incarceration would serve no purpose. The court further observed a chargesheet was filed after conclusion of investigation and the trial was not likely to conclude in near future.
There was no risk of tampering with evidence or fleeing from justice and it was well-established that the object of granting bail was neither punitive nor preventative, it added.
The court directed his release on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of the like amount.
The woman's family alleged the husband had an affair with his colleague and when confronted, he physically abused her.
The man was further accused of regularly subjecting his wife to domestic violence and pressurising her to secure EMI payments from her family for a car he had purchased.
The court observed no such complaint was made by the woman or her family when she alive and therefore prima facie diluting the immediacy and plausibility of the dowry-related harassment claim.
