Sensex, Nifty end flat on a choppy day; IT stocks drag


Benchmark indices ended Friday’s session with marginal cuts after erasing its intraday gains in the final hour. IT stocks remained subdued throughout the day after the US-based IT services company Cognizant nearly halved its 2019 growth guidance.

The intra-day rise in the indices was spurred by a slip in oil prices with financial stocks gaining the most, before the indices retreated to trade flat in the end.

S&P BSE Sensex settled 18 points lower for the day at 38,963, with TCS, Hindustan Unilever, TATA Steel, HCL Tech and Infosys being the top drags. Twelve out of the 30 constituents of the BSE ended the day in red.

The broader Nifty50 was also down 12.5 points, or 0.11 per cent, to end at 11,712 levels. The market breadth was tilted in favour of declines. About 1,031 stocks fell and 702 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index was the biggest loser, down almost 1.9 per cent while the Nifty FMCG index also slipped 1.13 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Realty index and Nifty PSU Bank index gained 1.57 per cent and 1.09 per cent, respectively.

On a weekly basis, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.27 per cent lower while and the NSE Nifty50 slipped 0.36 per cent. This was the indices’ biggest weekly loss since February 11.

The volatility index, VIX, ended the day 4.35 percent higher at 23.98.

The broader market took the cue from benchmark indices to end flat. The S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 15 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 14,783, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended the day at 14,548, down 45 points, or 0.31 per cent.

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Sensex settles 284 points higher as banks, FMCG stocks rally


The benchmark indices settled higher on Friday taking cues from their Asian peers.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 37,948, up 284 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,471, up 86 points.

Among key stocks, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major ITC rose over 2 per cent to end at Rs 313 levels on the BSE. The stock hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 315 earlier today. ICICI Bank and State Bank of India also ended higher in a range of 1.8 to 3.0 per cent on the BSE.

Among sectors, the Nifty Pharma index ended higher for the fourth straight day, hitting an over six-month high on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma and Cadila Healthcare from the index, were up in the range of 1 per cent to 4 per cent on the NSE.

Shares of paper companies were trading higher on the bourses on expectations of a positive outlook for the current July-September quarter.

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Sensex ends on Friday 19 pts down, Nifty at 10,768; Sun Pharma up 8%


Benchmark indices trimmed their morning losses and ended flat on Friday even as yields on the 10-year government bonds hit over 8% in the opening session today, first time since May 2015, but soon declined.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,444, down 19 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,768, down 1 points.

Among individual stocks, Sun Pharma surged over 8%, while Dr. Reddy ended nearly 5% higher on the BSE.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index rose 4.26% today led by a rise in the shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

Investors also continued to react to Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) first rate hike since 2014, while maintaining a neutral stance.

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) have moved higher by 1.5% to Rs 986 per share, rebounding 2.6% from their intra-day low of Rs 961 on the BSE.

Shares of select public sector undertaking (PSU) banks were quoting higher for the third straight trading day ahead of Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s meeting on Friday with the chief executives of 15 public sector banks (PSBs) in Mumbai. Dena Bank, Uco Bank and Corporation Bank were up 5% each, while Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and Allahabad Bank were up in the range of 3% to 4%. Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) however, trading 0.17% lower at Rs 269 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

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Sensex snaps 6-day gains, falls 111 pts; Nifty ends Jan series above 11,000, up 6%


Benchmark indices fell on Thursday, snapping a six-day record-setting rally, as profit-taking hit IT stocks while large state-run lenders slid as they stood to receive less money than expected from a government recapitalisation plan.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,050, up 111 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,069, up 16 points.

The government’s Rs 881.39 billion capital infusion in struggling public sector banks should help in part to mitigate risks but resolution of bad assets and continued high credit costs hinder the sector’s near-term performance, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. While the capital infusion plan was less than half of its estimate of $65 billion needed for the sector, Fitch said yesterday’s announcement will encourage banks to resolve their non-performing loan (NPL) stock faster as improved capital buffers bolster their ability to absorb potential large haircuts.

Jindal Saw dipped 8% to Rs 154, extending Wednesday’s 4% decline on BSE after the company reported 19% growth in net profit at Rs 963 million for the quarter ended December 2017 (Q3FY18). It had a profit of Rs 807 million in the same quarter last fiscal. Total income increased 49% to Rs 21,807 million from Rs 14,666 million in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd posted a 38.5 percent slump in quarterly net profit as sales declined due to pricing pressure in the United States, its biggest market. Net profit was Rs 3.03 billion ($47.7 million) in the third quarter ended December 31, compared with Rs 4.92 billion a year earlier, the company said.

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Markets end at record closing high; Nifty hits 10,500, ends lower


The benchmark indices settled at record closing highs with the Nifty50 touching its crucial 10,500 in last leg of trade, but ended below that mark.

Broader indices the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices also hit their respective closing highs.

The Nifty IT (up 1%) and The Nifty PSU Bank (up 1.5%) were the leading sectoral gainers.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,570 shares rose and 1,173 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 184.02 points at 33,940.30 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 52.70 points to 10,493.

Morepen Laboratories and D B Realty, from the S&P BSE Smallcap index, have rallied 50% each during the current week on back of positive development in these counters.

GNA Axles (up 4 percent) and Kilburn Engineering (up 10 percent) were trading at day’s high while ONGC and Granules India extended rally to 3-4 percent.

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Nifty ends on Friday at 9,400 ahead of inflation data, up 1% for the week


 

Benchmark indices ended lower with the Nifty settling at 9,400 as investors turned cautious ahead of inflation data and booked profits in recent outperformers.

 

Consumer price inflation (CPI) is expected to have eased to a three-month low of 3.49% in April from 3.81% the previous month, according to Reuters poll. The government will also unveil the new series of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as well as Wholesale Price Index (WPI), with 2011-12 as the base year, later in the day.

 

Both Sensex and Nifty hit record highs of in the previous two sessions, and were up more than 1% for the week. This is a second consecutive week of gains for the indices.

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 30,188, down 62 points, while the broader Nifty50 settled at 9,401, down 21 points.

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Sensex ends on Friday marginally higher ahead of RBI policy meeting


The benchmark indices on Friday ended flat as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s policy meeting next week. The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 28,240, up 14 points, while the Nifty50 quoted 8,740, up 7 points at close. In the broader market, BSE Smallcap index outperformed the frontline indices and BSE Midcap to gain 1%. BSE Midcap added 0.6%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,600 shares rose and 1,187 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

Shares of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) made a strong debut on Friday, with the scrip listing at Rs 1,085, a 35% premium over the issue price of Rs 806 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock hit a high of Rs 1,200, up 49% against its issue price within minutes of listing. The stock eventually settled the trade 33% higher at Rs 1,070 against its issue price.

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