Indices extend gains, Sensex up 524 points as RIL surges over 6%
Extending their rally into the second straight day, the benchmark indices ended Friday’s session with around 1.5 per cent gains, led by Reliance Industries (RIL) as the company announced it has become net debt-free, much before its original schedule of March 31, 2021. The stock rallied 6.5 per cent to end at Rs 1,764. In the process, the company scaled the market capitalisation of Rs 11 trillion.
The S&P BSE Sensex today gained 524 points or 1.53 per cent to settle at 34,732. Of 30 stocks on the index, 18 ended in the green and rest 12 in the red. Besides RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Bharti Airtel were the major contributors to the index’s gains.
NSE’s Nifty50 ended at 10,244, up 153 points or 1.5 per cent with 33 constituents advancing, 16 declining and 1 remaining unchanged. Volatility index, India VIX, dipped over 5 per cent to 29.78 levels.
On a weekly basis, Sensex gained nearly 3 per cent while Nifty added 2.7 per cent.
Sectorally, all the indices except Nifty IT and Nifty Metal ended in the green. Nifty Realty index zoomed over 6 per cent to 29.78 levels. On the other hand, Nifty IT slipped 0.35 per cent to 14,500.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 1.37 per cent to 12,804 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rallied around 1.4 per cent to 12,277.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Friday said its joint venture had received the nod from the US health regulator for generic Adapalene gel used for the treatment of acne. The company’s JV Aleor Dermaceuticals has received approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Adapalene gel USP, 0.3 per cent, Alembic Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.
Shares of Reliance Industries’ partly-paid (RIL PP) shares were locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit band at Rs 812.90 on the BSE on Friday, having rallied 16 per cent in the past two days, after group chairman Mukesh Ambani said that RIL has become net debt-free company after raising a record Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue within two months. RIL PP shares have a face value of Rs 2.5 each.
The S&P BSE PSU index consists of 57 stocks. Out of these, 42 are exhibiting positive momentum with upward strength as per the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). This indicator shows the bullish and bearish dimension on the positive crossover / negative crossover and the relevance of the zero line. Stocks that cross or stay above the zero line with a positive crossover are said to have an upward direction with strong positive momentum. As this is a trend following indicator, the upward direction of the moving averages highly denotes firm underneath strength.
Shares of Kaya, Alok Textiles, Birla Tyres, Borosil Renewables, Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom, and Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries were among the 38 stocks whose market price has more-than-doubled over the past one month. Besides, Nectar Lifesciences, Bilcare, Satin Creditcare Network, Aayush Food and Herbs, Ujaas Energy, Anjani Foods and Tiaan Ayurvedic & Herbs have also appreciated by an over 100 per cent during the same period.
Shares of sugar companies were in focus at the bourses on Friday. The stocks gained up to 7 per cent on the BSE on a report that the government is considering a proposal to increase the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar from the current Rs 31 per kg. Moreover, the strong operational performance of sugar companies in the January-March quarter (Q4FY20) results declared so far also aided the sentiment.
The trading volumes on the counter nearly doubled with a combined 7.57 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE till 10:02 am. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.22 per cent at 34,285 points. In the past two trading days, the stock of the private sector lender has rallied 20 per cent after the lender reported a reduction in accounts in SMA/overdue categories wherein moratorium was granted.
Here are some picks from the week gone by.
