Sensex gains 307 points as financials, metals rally; Nifty PSU Bank jumps 7%


After a one day blip, equity market once again edged higher on Friday, led by buying in financial, metal and auto stocks. PSU bank stocks advanced the most in trade after state-owned lender, State Bank of India, posted a net profit of Rs 3,581 crore for the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20). The profit grew 326.93 per cent from Rs 838 crore clocked in the year-ago quarter (Q4FY19). Sequentially, the profit declined by 35.85 per cent.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 307 points or 0.9 per cent to settle at 34,287.24 while NSE’s Nifty ended at 10,142.15, up 113 points or 1.13 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, slipped dropped nearly 4 per cent to 28.51 levels.

On a weekly basis, Sensex rallied 5.7 per cent and Nifty added 5.86 per cent.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained around 7 per cent to 1,386.75 levels with all the 13 constituents advancing. Nifty Metal index rallied nearly 4 per cent to 2,049.70 levels. On the other hand, Nifty FMCG was the only index that ended in the red. The index settled 0.27 per cent lower at 29,542 levels.

In the broader market, both the mid and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index climbed 1.8 per cent to 12,554.16 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index surged 2.51 per cent to 11,855 levels.

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Sensex up 227 points, mid-cap rally continues; metal stocks gain


Bulls held their reigns for the second consecutive day on Friday, as markets decisively stayed in the positive territory after a mild blip in the early morning trade. Pre-budget rally and decent Q3FY20 results throughout the day were the biggest factors driving the markets today. Banking counters were leading the charge from the front with HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank being the top contributors of the gains today.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex surged 421 points off day’s low to hit an intra-day high of 41,697.03. At close, the Sensex settled at 41,613.19 level, up 226.79 points or 0.55 per cent. UltraTech Cement, L&T, Tech Mahindra, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers on the 30-share index, while Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, TCS, and Reliance Industries were the top laggards.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 reclaimed the 12,250-mark in the intra-day trade today and hit a high of 12,272.15. The 50-share index ended 67.90 points, or 0.56 per cent, higher at 12,248.25 mark. Sectorally, all the key indices settled in the positive territory barring Nifty IT and Pharma indices. Nifty Metal index settled 1.02 per cent higher, followed by Nifty Financial Services index (up 0.9 per cent) and Nifty Bank index (up 0.8 per cent).

Broader markets continued their outperformance on Friday as well, with the S&P BSE mid-cap index hitting its fresh 52-week high in the intra-day trade today. At close, the index was at 15,826.57 level, up 0.8 per cent. The S&P BSE small-cap index, meanwhile, settled 0.5 per cent higher at 14,848.49.

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Markets end down in a truncated week; Sensex down 219 and Nifty down 73


On Thursday, the benchmark indices fell for the third consecutive session, settling over 0.5 per cent lower led by fall in banking and metal stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,981, down 219 points or 0.6 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,527, down 73 points or 0.7 per cent.

The BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) are closed for trade on Friday, on account of Gurunanak Jayanti. All wholesale commodity markets, including metal and bullion, are also closed. The forex and commodity futures markets, too, will not trade.

It was a negative end for the market in this truncated week with the Nifty giving up 10,550-mark.

Private banks were major contributors to the Nifty Bank’s underperformance. Telecom pack, too, saw some pressure. Consumption, energy, metals, and pharma saw the most losses after banks, while selling was visible in the midcaps space.

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Sensex surges 580 points on Friday on strong Asian cues; auto, banks rally


The benchmark indices settled over 1.5 per cent higher on Friday led by a sharp rise in automobile stocks amid a jump in the Asian markets which rose as China and the United States expressed optimism about resolving their bruising trade war.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,012, up 580 points (up 1.8 per cent), while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,553, up 173 points (up 1.7 per cent). The indices ended over 5 per cent higher this week, making it the biggest weekly gain since May 2016.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Auto index rose 4.2 per cent led by a rise in Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp. The Nifty Bank index, too, ended 1.5 per cent led by IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank.

In stocks, the oil and gas companies rallied led by BPCL which rose 6.4 per cent to Rs 301 on the BSE while IOC ended nearly 5 per cent higher at Rs 148.

The rupee firmed against the US dollar, reclaiming the 72-per-dollar levels. The Indian currency rose to 72.53 against the greenback in intra-day trade, up from its previous close of 73.45 per dollar.

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Indices end higher on Friday but Nifty fails to hold 10500 mark


Benchmark indices rose for a seventh straight session on Friday, their longest winning streak since November 2017, on the back of gains in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

Sentiment was also upbeat after retail inflation eased to a five-month low in March, but remained above the central bank’s medium-term target, supporting views that monetary policy is likely to remain unchanged at the next review in early June.

Investors now await January-March corporate results for future direction. IT Major Infosys will kick-start the March-quarter results season later in the day.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,193, up 92 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,481, up 22 points.

KPIT Technologies  rose for a third straight session, quoting at Rs 230.5, up 1.86% on the day as on the NSE. KPIT Technologies is up 79.24% in last one year as compared to a 14.96% gain in Nifty and a 33.16% gain in the Nifty IT index.

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In first trading session of Samvat 2074, Sensex dives 194 points


Trading in Samvat 2074 got off to a rocky start, with the benchmark indices ending more than half a % lower and gauge for banking stocks dropping 1.25%. The BSE Sensex on Thursday fell 194.4 points, or 0.6% to close at 32,390, the Nifty 50 index fell 64.3, or 0.63% to close at 10,147.

The fall in the market was on account of a global sell-off which saw the Hong Kong market tumble the most this year and the European equities fall the most in two months. Market players said some domestic investors also resorted to profit-booking after a healthy 18% rally in the just-concluded Samvat 2073.

The BSE Bankex fell 1.3%, with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank declining 2%, 1.6% and 1% respectively. These three stocks accounted for half of the fall in the benchmark Sensex.

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Nifty settles below 9,800, down over 1.5% for the week; Sensex ends flat


Benchmark indices pared gains to end flat, losing over 1.5% in the week on foreign fund outflows amid worries that the government may widen its fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of gross domestic product for the year ending in March 2018 to boost an economy that grew at a slower pace than expected.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and BSE smallcap indices gaining 0.8% and 1% respectively. Both indices ended over 1% for the week

Foreign investors net selling equities worth $1.1 billion during the month. They had sold worth $2 billion in shares in August.

Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, GAIL and Eicher Motors gained the most on both indices, while HUL and Wipro were the top losers.

Realty firm Godrej Properties today said it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Royale Builders and Developers to develop a 13-acre group housing project in north Bengaluru.

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Nifty ends below 9,600, down almost 1% for the week; Nifty IT slips 0.8%


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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Nifty pares initial losses to close unchanged on Friday, RIL top gainer


The benchmark Nifty50 pared all its initial losses to settle the first day of the April F&O series flat as investors booked profits in recent outperformers.

However, the index along with S&P BSE Sensex logged their third straight month of gains fuelled by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)’s crucial victory in Uttar Pradesh and big foreign inflows in the markets to the tune of over Rs 30,000 crore so far this month.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 29,620, down 27 points, while the broader Nifty50 remained unchanged at 9,173. The last time the 50-share index closed unchanged on October 27, 2016 at 8615.25 level.

The broader market outperformed with the S&P BSE Midcap (up 0.8%) and S&P BSE Smallcap (up 0.7%) hitting their fresh lifetime highs for the second day in a row.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,620 shares rose and 1,121 shares fell. A total of 232 shares were unchanged.

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