Indices trim losses to end flat, Nifty at 10,818; Pharma gains


The markets trimmed their day’s losses and ended flat on Friday amid weakness in their Asian peers, that wobbled on Friday as investors braced for US tariffs against China.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,622, up 22 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,818, up 10 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index ended over 2% higher led by rise in the shares of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla and Piramal Enterprises.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) hit a new high of Rs 1,849 per share, up 3% on the BSE after the company said its board approved a proposal of buyback upto 76.19 million equity shares at price of Rs 2,100 per share through tender offer. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,840 recorded on June 14, 2018.

Manpasand Beverages was locked in lower circuit of 5% at Rs 158 on the BSE after the exchange placed shares of the company under ASM (Additional Surveillance Measure) framework effective from today, June 15, 2018. The BSE shifted Manpasand Beverages and Sai Baba Investment and Commercial Enterprises under enhanced surveillance measures where 100% margins will be applicable from June 16, 2018.
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Sensex ends 289 points higher ahead of Karnataka polls


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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Indices end flat, Nifty settles at 10,227 levels; PSU banks, metals lose


The domestic indices ended largely flat on Friday taking cues from their Asian counterparts.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended 1.81% lower led by a fall in the shares of Canara Bank, IDBI Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. The Nifty Metal index too ended 1.81% down due to a fall in shares of Steel Authority of India Limited, Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Steel.

The Reserve Bank may provide four quarters to Punjab National Bank (PNB) for making provisions against the country’s biggest ever banking fraud of Rs 127 billion allegedly masterminded by billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi. The bank has written a letter to the banking sector regulator seeking its opinion on making provisions for the fraud, sources said.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,307, down 44 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10.227, down 16 points

Shares of steel companies were under pressure with Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) down more than 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 10% and 25% on imports of steel and aluminium respectively on March 8th. Meanwhile, Tata Steel slipped nearly six-month low at Rs 607, down 4% on the BSE in intra-day trade, extending its past two days 4% decline after the company on Wednesday said that it has emerged as the top bidder for debt-laden Bhushan Steel.

State-owned power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on Friday said it has won Rs 117-billion order for setting up a 3×800 Mw thermal power plant in Jharkhand.  Shares of BHEL were trading 1.34 per cent higher at Rs 87.15 on the BSE.

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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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Sensex, Nifty end at fresh record closing high; Midcap underperforms


Benchmark indices ended at fresh record closing high today, backed by ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 88.90 points at 34,592.39 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 30.10 points at 10,681.30, but Midcap index underperformed.

Investors, however, remained wary as four senior sitting judges of the complaint that Supreme Court as administration of the country’s top court was not in order.

KEI Industries shares rallied 10 percent as Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage with Buy rating on the stock and target price at Rs 537, implying potential upside of 44 percent as the company is expected to be major beneficiary of key government initiatives.

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As markets end flat, over 70 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs


The Indian market ended the truncated week on a sombre note, posting mild gains on both indices. Strong movements by Infosys and pharmaceutical stocks helped the Street, but selling in HDFC group stocks, FMCG stocks capped upside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 28.05 points at 31,596.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 4.55 points at 9,857.05.

The market was closed on Friday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices as the BSE Midcap index gained 0.8 percent and Smallcap was up 0.4 percent on positive breadth. About five shares advanced for every four shares falling on the BSE.

However, among these times, there were over 70 stocks which had a good day and clocked fresh 52-week high milestones. Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Holding, Chennai Petro, Deepak Fertilisers, Avenue Supermarts, Indiabulls Housing Finance, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel, among others, were in that list of gainers.

Meanwhile, there were 28 stocks that also hit fresh all-time highs, thereby increasing investor wealth. Bajaj Finserv, Deepak Fertilisers, Avenue Supermarts, IndusInd Bank and Heritage Foods, among others were a part of this list.

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Sensex ends 270 points lower, Nifty below 9,850 as Infosys cracks 9%


The Sensex settled at 31,524, down 270 points, while the broader Nifty50 quoted 9,837, down 66 points at close. The BSE Midcap index settled 0.1% lower, while BSE Smallcap index shed 0.5%.

The benchmark indices snapped a three-session long winning streak, as Infosys cracked after Vishal Sikka’s resignation as MD & CEO, although rivals such as Tata Consultancy Services gained.

According to a BSE filing, Sikka will be Executive Vice-Chairman while UB Pravin Rao is the Interim-MD and CEO.

Infosys saw its sharpest decline since April 12, 2013, down 9.6% to Rs 923. In intraday trade, the stock fell as much as 13% to Rs 884.

But the domestic markets still logged their sixth weekly gain in seven, though they remained below the record highs hit on August 2.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,534 shares declined and 1,002 shares rose. A total of 122 shares remained unchanged.

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Markets snap 4-day record closing trend, end flat; Nifty up 2% for the week


The markets ended flat, snapping 4-day record closing trend after opening at record highs after information technology heavyweight Infosys’ June quarter results beat Street estimates, while TCS, which declared its results post market hours on Thursday, was the top loser on Sensex and Nifty.

The BSE Sensex settled the day at 32,020, down 16 points while the broader Nifty50 index ended at 9,886, down 5 points

Nifty IT index was the top sectoral loser, down over 1% for the day dragged by Just Dial, TCS, Wipro and Tata Elxsi. Infosys also slipped in red, ending 0.7% down for the day after rising nearly 3% in early-morning trade.

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Markets rebound to end marginally higher on Friday, the eve of GST


Benchmark indices rebounded to ended marginally higher after a day of subdued trading as caution ahead of the launch of a goods and services tax (GST) kept investors on edge. The indices ended the month of June in negative, first monthly loss this year, even after they rose a bit in the late afternoon deals.

The revised tax structure will kick in from midnight, marking India’s biggest tax reform since independence, unifying its $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into a common market.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 30,921, up 64 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,521, up 17 points.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap bucked the trend to gain 0.6% each.

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Markets end at record highs; Nifty settles above 9650; Hero Moto top gainer


The benchmark indices ended at record highs on Friday, tracking upbeat trend in global markets, while back home hopes of good southwest monsoon rains also lifted sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 31,273, up 135 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at 9,653, up 37 points.

In intraday trade, the 30-share Sensex gained as much as 195 points to touch a new high of 31,332, surpassing the previous milestone of 31,220 hit on May 29, while the broader Nifty50 rose as much as 16 points to reach a fresh high of 9,673, scaling last peak of 9,637 hit on May 29.

The broader market outperformed with the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices adding 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,449 shares rose and 1,237 shares declined. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

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