Moody’s upgrade lifts market mood; Sensex up 236 pts, Nifty ends above 10,200
Benchmark indices ended higher on Friday after global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service upgraded India’s sovereign rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook to stable from positive.
This development that will give a big boost to Modi government, reduce the cost overseas borrowing and improve investments in India. Rating company, while justifying the upgrade said that the reforms undertaken by the government will “improve the business climate, enhancing productivity, stimulating foreign and domestic investment, and ultimately fostering strong and sustainable growth.”
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,342, up 236 points, while the broader Nifty50 settled at 10,283, up 69 points.
Shares of real estate companies were in focus with DLF, Puravankara, Kolte Patil Developers, Sunteck Realty and Ajmera Realty hitting their respective 52-week highs on Friday. All these stocks were up in the range of 5% to 15% on the BSE in intra-day deal.
Cipla was up 3.4% to Rs 613 on the BSE in intra-day trade after the pharmaceutical company announced that it has received a final approval from the US health regulator for generic Pulmicort Respules used for treatment of asthma.
ICICI Bank, Bank of India, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, HeidelbergCement India, Jubilant FoodWorks, L&T Technology, KPIT Technologies, Polaris Consultancy Services and Titagarh Wagons were among 19 stocks from the S&P BSE500 index that hit 52-week highs, following over 1% rally in the equity markets. These stocks include Eveready Industries, Indian Bank, Radico Khaitan, Tata Global Beverages, Vakrangee and 3M India etc.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company (HDFCSL) made a positive debut by listing at Rs 311, a 7% premium against issue price of Rs 290 per share on the BSE. The stock opened at Rs 310 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The shareholders of Anil Ambani group firms are a worried lot these days, particularly due to the stress in Reliance Communications (RCom). News reports on the group have been mixed — while the demerger and separate listing of Reliance Capital’s (RCap’s) housing finance arm and the initial public offering (IPO) of its asset management business were positive, RCom disappointed. The telecom business defaulted on interest payment to its US dollar bond holders this week, sending its share price below Rs 10 in intra-day trades.
Shares of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) was locked at 5 percent upper circuit on the back of strong September quarter numbers. The company has turned profitable as it has reported net profit of Rs 2.8 crore against a loss of Rs 24.4 crore, in the year ago period. Revenue of the company was down 3.7 percent at Rs 605.3 crore against Rs 628.7 crore. The operating profit rose 64.5 percent at Rs 88.7 crore and EBITDA margin was up 600 bps at 14.6 percent.
Ashapura Minechem shares rallied 7 percent after ace investor Porinju Veliyath’s Equity Intelligence has bought 7.4 lakh shares of the company via open market transaction. Equity Intelligence holds 5.35 percent stake in the company after this share acquisition.
Shares of Gati rose 7 percent intraday after second quarter earnings. The company has recorded 179 percent jump in its Q2 net profit at Rs 20.77 crore against Rs 7.44 crore. Revenue decreased 4.6 percent at Rs 405.97 crore against Rs 425.65 crore.
