Sensex recovers 600 points from day’s low, ends 223 points up; FMCG, Pharma rally

Supported by buying in FMCG, pharma, and auto counters, the domestic equity market ended in the positive territory on Friday, ahead of the release of GDP data for January-March quarter of 2019-20 (Q4FY20).

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex recovered a good 600 points from day’s low to settle at 32,424.10, up 223.15 points or 0.7 per cent. ONGC (up 5.5 per cent) was the top gainer on the index while IT major Infosys (down 2 per cent) ended as the biggest loser.

NSE’s Nifty settled at 9,580, up 90 points or 1 per cent, with 36 of 50 constituents advancing and 14 declining.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 5.7 per cent and the Nifty added 6 per cent.

The broader market, too, participated in the rally. The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained over 1 per cent to 13,273 and the Nifty SmallCap 100 index rose nearly a per cent to 4,002.80.

Among individual stocks, Vodafone Idea rallied 35 per cent to Rs 7.85 in the intra-day deals on the BSE, after reports said that the global technology giant Google is in talks to buy a 5 per cent stake in the company, owned by Vodafone Plc of the UK and Aditya Birla Group. The stock, however, pared gains and ended around 13 per cent higher at Rs 6.56 after the company clarified on the report, saying there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the Board.

IT services firm Wipro surged 6.65 per cent to Rs 212.55 after the company named Thierry Delaporte as the new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the company, replacing Abidali Neemuchwala. Delaporte was most recently the chief operating officer of French consulting and technology firm Capgemini Group.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were in focus with Nifty Pharma index gaining over 3 per cent on the expectation of strong demand scenario from both the domestic and export market.

Pharma shares like Cipla, Aurobindo Pharma hit a 52-week high. Among individual stocks, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Divis Laboratories, Biocon, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Caplin Point Laboratories, Aarti Drugs, Indoco Remedies, RPG Lifesciences and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were up in the range of 3 per cent to 5 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.

The Aditya Birla Fashion Retail (ABFRL) stock jumped 9 per cent on Thursday after the firm announced deleveraging and cash generation plans that include a rights issue, liquidating inventory, and cutting capital expenditure by 60-70 per cent in FY21. Net debt, which had decreased from Rs 1,891 crore in FY18 to Rs 1,645 crore in FY19, surged to Rs 2,516 crore in FY20.

The Sun Pharma stock gained 1.38 per cent on Thursday, even as the firm posted a weaker-than-expected performance for the March quarter. This was on account of the speciality products segment, which put up a better-than-expected show. This segment is vital to Sun Pharma’s growth prospects.

Shares of Rain Industries soared 17 per cent to Rs 81.20 on the BSE on Friday after the company’s profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional items (Ebitda) jumped 52 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 558 crore in the March quarter (Q1CY20). Ebitda margin expanded 780 basis points to 19.3 per cent from 11.5 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

Bharti Infratel hits over 3-month high; zooms 100% from March lows. The stock was trading at its highest level since February 14, 2020. With today’s rally, Bharti Infratel stock has zoomed 100 per cent from its 52-week low level of Rs 121 touched on March 19, 2020. In the past month, it has soared 46 per cent as against a 2 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Shares of TVS Motor dipped over 3% as March quarter profit plunges 43%. The company reported total sales of 32.63 lakh units in 2019-20 as against 39.14 lakh units in 2018-19. During the fourth quarter, the company’s overall two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales, including exports, stood at 6.33 lakh units as compared with 9.07 lakh units registered in the quarter ended March 2019.

Here are some picks from the week gone by.