The benchmark indices settled marginally lower on Friday weighed by financials and consumer stocks amid caution in global markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,252, down 85 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,557, down 26 points.
Among key stocks, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top losers on the BSE, falling 3.5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the Nifty Bank index settled 0.7 per cent lower weighed by Yes Bank, Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank.
Shares of selected pharmaceutical companies were in focus with Amrutanjan Health Care, Pfizer, Merck and Novartis India rallying up to 18% on the BSE in otherwise subdued market. All these stocks were trading at their respective all-time highs.
Analysts remain bullish on Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and have maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock despite the company’s buyback proposal. The company, at its meeting on Thursday, approved a proposal to buy back up to 60 million equity shares at a maximum price of Rs 1,500 per equity share for an amount of Rs 90 billion.
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The markets ended higher on Friday ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. The southern state will vote on Saturday and the poll outcome will be known on May 15.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,536, up 289 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,807, up 90 points.
Among individual stocks, Asian Paints hit a record high on strong March-quarter results and was among the top contributors to index gains. Stock was the top gainer of the broader Nifty50 index.
Shares of Fortis Healthcare ended 3% lower at Rs 148 on the BSE, after the company said the board chooses the Hero Enterprises-Burman Family Office offer as the best for the hospital and diagnostic chain.
Shares of select pharmaceutical companies were under pressure, falling by up to 6% ahead of US President Donald Trump speech today about controlling prescription drug prices. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries slipped 6% to Rs 468 on the BSE in noon deal on back of heavy volumes. Novartis India, Marksans Pharma, Ajanta Pharma, Morepen Laboratories, Alkem Laboratories, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) and Aarti Drugs were down in the range 3% to 4% on the BSE.
PC Jeweller on Thursday announced its board has approved buy-back of shares worth Rs 4.24 billion amid a sharp plunge in stock price in recent weeks. The shares will be bought back at Rs 350 per unit, which is 67 per cent higher than the closing price of Rs 209 apiece on the BSE on Thursday. Promoters will not participate in the buy-back process. In a regulatory filing, the jeweller said the board at its meeting held on Thursday considered and approved the buy-back of up to 1,21,14,286 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 10 each.
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The domestic indices ended 1% higher on Friday taking cues from the global markets. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,142, up 323 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,491, up 108 points.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index ended nearly 3% higher on Friday led by a rise in the shares of Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Steel and National Aluminium Company. The Nifty Pharma index also ended over 2.5% higher led by surge in the stocks of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Divi’s Laboratories.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries turned volatile, trading 3.5% higher at Rs 561 on the BSE at 02:34 pm on Friday, after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued Form 483, with three observations, for its Halol facility in Gujarat.
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Benchmark indices swung between gains and losses on Friday to end the day flat amid lack of global as well as domestic cues. Nifty50 settled the week 0.8% lower, its first weekly loss in six weeks, breaking its longest gaining streak since late 2014 while Sensex ended the week 0.6% lower.
Gains were capped by a sharp correction in pharma and IT stocks on worries over their earnings outlook while ITC, Tata Motors continued to support the market.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 31,056, down 19 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 9,588, up 10 points.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Smallcap pared gains to finish 0.1% higher after rising 0.5% to hit its record high, while the S&P BSE Midcap index was up 0.2%.
Pharma was the top losing index amid worries about their earnings outlook because of pricing pressures in the United States, down 1.8%. Lupin was the biggest laggard on the index, down over 4% followed by 4% Divi’s Lab, Cadila Healthcare, Sun Pharma and Cipla.
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The benchmark indices settled lower on Friday as banking stocks dipped after the government notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, while a drop in crude prices dragged down oil explorers such as ONGC and Oil India.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 29,858, down 267 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at 9,285, down 75 points. The Nifty50 index reversed course seconds after hitting its fresh all-time high of 9,367 in early trade.
India VIX, essentially a fear gauge, closed the day at 11.98, rising over 5% from the previous close.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap indices settled 1% and 0.8% lower, respectively.
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Benchmark indices settled the day flat and posted small weekly gains as investors stayed cautious ahead of assembly election results. Exit polls declared yesterday showed BJP ahead of other rival parties in all the five states.
Victory for BJP in Uttar Pradesh will boost PM Narendra Modi’s chances of winning the 2019 general election. It would also give the party more number of legislators in the Rajya Sabha where it doesn’t have a majority, improving the government’s chances of passing key reform bills.
The 30-share Sensex ended 17 points higher at 28,946, while the 50-share Nifty settled the day at 8,934, up 7 points.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap was down 0.2%, while BSE Smallcap fell 0.1%.
