Sensex gives up 51K amid broad-based sell-off, dips 435 points; PSBs, auto hit
Extending their decline into fourth straight day, benchmark indices ended the week with over 1 per cent cut on the back of losses in Eicher Motors (7 per cent), Nestle India (5.3 per cent), Divis Labs (5.4 per cent), and Cipla (5 per cent).
On Friday, though, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex nurses losses of 435 points, or 0.85 per cent, to end the day at 50,890 levels. In the intra-day trade, the index tanked 800 points from the day’s high to hit a low of 50,624. Only 11 of the 30 constituents ended the day in green with ONGC (down 5 per cent), SBI and Axis Bank (down 3.5 per cent each), ICICI Bank (3 per cent), Baja Auto (2.6 per cent), and Maruti Suzuki (2 per cent) being the top losers.
Gains in Dr Reddy’s Labs (2.3 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2 per cent), HUL (1.7 per cent), and RIL (0.7 per cent) trimmed losses.
On the NSE, the Nifty50 index gave up the 15,000-mark and settled at 14,982 levels, down 137 points or 0.9 per cent. It hit an intra-day low of 14,898.
The broader markets, too, gave up their winning ways today and ended in the red. The S&P BSE MidCap index underperformed on the BSE and 1.7 per cent down today. The SamllCap counterpart, meanwhile, settled at 0.7 per cent down.
Sectorally, none of the indices ended in the green zone today. The Nifty PSU bank index ended as the top laggard on the NSE, down 4.7 per cent, after surging nearly 6 per cent each over the past two days. That apart, Nifty Metal, Bankm and Auto indices skid 2 per cent each.
Shares of medical equipment maker Poly Medicure rose 6 per cent to hit a new high of Rs 689 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade after the company successfully raised Rs 400 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) route. In the past week, the stock has rallied 16 per cent, as compared to a nearly 1 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Shares of IDFC First Bank hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 63.05, up 9 per cent in the intra-day trade, on the BSE on Friday after the bank’s board approved raising up to Rs 3,000 crore. “The Board at its meeting held on Thursday, February 18, noted the significant opportunities for growth of the Bank based on the strong capabilities the Bank has built and the strong outlook for economic recovery in India, and has approved raising of funds for an amount aggregating up to Rs 3,000 crore, in one or more tranches,” it said in an exchange filing.
Shares of Magma Fincorp (MFL), on Friday, were locked in 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 125.05; also its fresh 52-week high, on the BSE after rating agencies placed the rating of the company’s long/short term bank facilities on watch with developing implication. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 7.77 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE, till 11:02 am.
Shares of Dabur India were trading 2 per cent lower at Rs 507.55 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday after nearly 10 million equity shares of the personal products company changed hands via block deals. At 09:15 am, around 9.63 million equity shares representing 0.54 per cent equity of Dabur India changed hands on the BSE, the exchange data shows. The name of the buyers and sellers were not known immediately.
Here are some picks from the week gone by.
