Sensex ends 391 pts higher led by financials, IMD forecast
The benchmark indices settled over 1 per cent higher on Friday after falling for two consecutive days, led by a rise in the financial stocks and a ‘normal’ monsoon forecast during August-September by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). They also rose taking cues from their Asian peers which inched higher following a tech-led rise on Wall Street.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 37,556, up 391 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,361, up 116 points.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank index rose 1.24 per cent led by a rise in the shares of Axis Bank, YES Bank and Punjab National Bank. The Nifty Fin Service index, too, settled 1.54 per cent higher led by Indiabulls Housing Finance and Edelweiss Financial Services.
Shares of VIP Industries have moved higher by 10% to Rs 538 per share, also their record high on the BSE, after the company reported a strong 55% year on year (yoy) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 634 million in June quarter (Q1FY19). The company, which is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of luggage and bags, had a profit of Rs 410 million in the same quarter year ago.
Shares of Jet Airways (India) have slipped 9% to Rs 302 per share on the BSE in intra-day trade after the media reports suggested that the airline will be unable to fly beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures including pay cuts are put in place. The stock was trading close to its 52-week low of Rs 297 touched on July 19, 2018 in intra-day trade.
Even as Power Grid posted in-line performance for the June quarter (Q1), its stock gained a little over three per cent in the past two trading sessions despite the markets falling. All-round growth in Q1, improving visibility in the core power transmission business and, stock price correction of 20 per cent in the past two months that now factors in concerns over new tariff norms are all keeping analysts positive.
Shares of Venky’s India have surged 20% to Rs 3,240 per share on the BSE in early morning trade on Friday on back of heavy volumes. The stock zoomed 44% in past two trading sessions from Rs 2,250 after the company got excluded from the additional surveillance measures (ASM) list with effect from Thursday.
Marico’s June quarter (Q1) numbers, announced on Thursday, were in line with analysts’ expectation. Sales and net profit grew 20.5 per cent over a year to Rs 20.3 billion and 10.3 per cent to Rs 2.6 billion, respectively. However, operating profit was a disappointment, amid high inflationary pressure.
Shares of logistics companies were in focus and rallied by up to 8% on the BSE on expectations of impressive growth in the current financial year 2018-19. TCI Express, Sical Logistics, Patel Integrated Logistics, Allcargo Logistics, Transport Corporation of India and VRL Logistics were up in the range of 2% to 8% on the BSE.
Torrent Pharmaceuticals has rallied 8% to Rs 1,652, also its 52-week high on the BSE after the company reported a better-than-expected 37% year-on-year (YoY) growth in its consolidated revenues at Rs 18.72 billion in June quarter (Q1FY19). The company’s India business recorded 79% YoY growth and US business posted 23% YoY growth during the quarter.
The Bank of Baroda (BoB) stock, like those many public sector lenders, was under pressure after the bank posted losses in the March quarter. However, it has gained 30 per cent from early July on hope that the worst in terms of asset quality might be over for public sector banks (PSBs) and, importantly, its own good performance in the June 2018 quarter (Q1), reported last Friday.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Thursday divested its stake in L&T Technology Services to comply with the 25 per cent minimum public shareholding requirement. The engineering giant is offering up to 6.6 million shares, representing 6.6 per cent stake, through the so-called offer for sale (OFS) route.
Shares of information technology (IT) company Mphasis is trading 4% higher at Rs 1,225 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company said that its board will consider a share buyback proposal on Tuesday, August 7, 2018.
