At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 339.34 points or 0.46% to 72,327.85. The Nifty 50 index fell 85.70 points or 0.39% to 21,969.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.49% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.64%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1414 shares rose and 2440 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, climbed 12.46% to 20.78.

Economy:

India’s industrial output expanded 4.9% year-over-year in March, slower than the 5.6% in February. Among the major three sectors, electricity output grew the most, up by 8.6%. This was followed by a 5.2% rise in manufacturing output. The slowdown in growth was largely due to a weaker upturn in mining output, which rose 1.2% annually in March versus 8.1% surge in the prior month. During April to March, industrial production expanded 5.8% from the same period last year, data showed.

Meanwhile, after falling for three consecutive weeks, India’s forex reserves jumped $3.668 billion to $641.59 billion for the week ended May 3, according to the latest RBI data. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all-time high of USD 648.562 billion, following multiple weeks of increases. The foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $4.459 billion to $564.161 billion.

Gold reserves decreased $653 million to $54.88 billion during week ended May 3. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up $2 million to $18.051 billion, according to the latest RBI data.

Gainers & Losers:

Cipla (up 5.71%), Asian Paints (up 3.48%), Divi's Laboratories (up 2.65%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 1.91%) and Britannia Industries (up 1.50%) were major Nifty gainers.

Tata Motors (down 8.92%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 2.76%), Coal India (down 1.85%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.75%) and Shriram Finance (down 1.74%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ABB India surged 9.51% after the company’s net profit (from continuing operations) surged 87.46% to Rs 459.60 crore in Q1 CY24 as against Rs 245.17 crore recorded in Q1 CY23. The company’s total revenue from operations jumped 27.75% to Rs 3,080.36 crore in Q1 CY24 as compared to Rs 2,411.21 recorded in corresponding quarter last year.

VIP Industries declined 4.31% after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 23.88 crore in Q4 FY24 as against net loss of Rs 4.26 crore in Q4 FY23. Net sales increased 14.59% year on year (YoY) to Rs 516.32 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

APL Apollo Tubes shed 0.28%. The company reported 16% fall in net profit to Rs 170.4 crore on a despite an 8% increase in revenue to Rs 4765.7 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.

Kalyan Jewellers slipped 2.46%. The jewellery retailer’s consolidated net profit jumped 96.3% to Rs 137.59 crore on 34.09% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 4,534.93 crore in Q4 FY24 over Q4 FY23.

JK Cement rose 1.57% after the cement maker's consolidated net profit zoomed 100.6% to Rs 219.75 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 109.52 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 11.8% year on year to Rs 3,105.77 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Global Markets:

Most of the European stocks advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday, with Chinese stocks leading the downward trend. The release of China's April inflation data, which fell within a moderate range, coincided with a shift towards investor caution ahead of key U.S. inflation data scheduled for release this week.

Chinese stocks faced additional downward pressure due to potential new U.S. trade tariffs. Several media outlets reported last week that the Biden administration is considering imposing import tariffs on specific sectors within China, including electric vehicles and solar energy technology.

Regional markets largely followed the muted performance of Wall Street on Friday, with investor focus shifting towards the upcoming U.S. inflation data which could impact future interest rate decisions.