Sensex, Nifty end flat after choppy day; Titan up 5%, Varroc Engg tanks 7%


Equity markets were volatile on Friday, swinging rapidly during the day, as every bargain buying witnessed selling pressure on the top. The S&P BSE Sensex hit a high of 58,269, and a low of 57,851 during the day before closing at 58,191. It slipped 31 points, or 0.05 percent, compared to Thursday’s close.

The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, shut shop at 17,315, down 17 points or 0.1 percent. The benchmark indices were weighed down by energy, IT, FMCG, and financial stocks with Tata Consumer Products, M&M, Coal India, BPCL, SBI, TCS, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, HCL Tech, and ITC being the top laggards. On the upside, Titan Company, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, Grasim, and Maruti Suzuki trimmed losses, rising over 1 percent each.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index fell 0.15 percent, while the BSE SmallCap index added 0.3 percent.

The rupee weakened to a new low against the US dollar on Friday as Federal Reserve officials in the US outlined a large quantum of rate hikes going ahead, leading to a stronger greenback globally. The rupee, which weakened past the 82 per dollar mark for the first time, hit a low of 82.42 per dollar during the day. Its previous low was 81.95 per dollar. Meanwhile, yields on 10-year government bonds were back above 7.5 percent during the day.

IPO Market was buzzing with the three-day issue of Electronics Mart India, the consumer durables company was subscribed 62 times till 3:30 PM. The QIB portion subscribed at 138 times, NII at 60.4 times, and Retail at 19 times.

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Sensex rises 712 points, Nifty tops 17,150; Tata Steel rallies 7%, HDFC 2.5%


Benchmark indices settled near the day’s high on Friday as investors lapped up metal and IT shares, along with index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC twins, Sun Pharma, and Bajaj Finance.

The S&P BSE Sensex soared 712 points, or 1.25 per cent, to end at 57,570, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 17,158, up 229 points or 1.35 per cent. In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices, too, added over 1 per cent each.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index climbed 4 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT index (2 per cent). Public sector banks were the only losers with the Nifty PSB index down 1.2 per cent.

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Indices end lower for 2nd day; Sensex drops 441 points but up 2.5% this week


Domestic markets snapped the streak of weekly losses even as sombre global mood butchered bulls at the bourses for two days straight. A rise in Brent crude prices along with a jump in bond yields acted as the double whammy on stocks on Friday, pushing benchmark equity indices down by nearly a per cent. However, a tilt towards defensives towards the fag-end of the session lifted markets off-lows.

Among headline indices, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 50,405 levels today, erasing 441 points or 0.87 per cent. From the day’s high of 50,886, the index tumbled 726 points to hit a low of 50,160. Financial, pharma, and IT counters were the top drags on the index today with IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma, and HDFC leading the list of losers. All these stocks were down in the range of 1.7 per cent to 5 per cent.

On the upside, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle India, Titan, Reliance Industries, and L&T supported the markets with up to 2.5 per cent gains.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled above the 14,900-mark at 14,938, down 143 points or 0.95 per cent. 38 of the 50 stocks declined on the Nifty today, while 12 advanced.

All the sectoral indices were painted red amid across-the-board sell-off. The Nifty PSU index plunged 4 per cent on the NSE, followed by the Nifty Metal index (down 3 per cent), and the Nifty IT and Realty indices (down 2 per cent each). The Nifty Bank, Auto, FMCG, and Financial Services indices slipped between 0.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped 1.9 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

The overall market breadth favoured bears with 1,904 stocks ending the day in the red, compared with around 1,083 stocks that advanced on the BSE.

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Repost: We are at the start of a bull market, it is going to make us forget 2003: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala


The original interview with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala appeared on The Economic Times and is available here.

In an exclusive interview with ET Now, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Partner, Rare Enterprises, says markets could correct any time it is going to correct more time wise rather than price wise. Edited excerpts
ET Now: I want to start with something which I picked up on my WhatsApp couple of days ago and it says that there is a strong market rumour that a big bull, which is you, has informed his close circle of friends and his associates that markets have topped out and now we may see a significant correction going forward. Have you told your friends anything like this?

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: My opinion especially in oil, I think $60 for oil is not to be crossed. Onshore oil costs $3 and the fracking capacity is 10%, 15% of oil capacity in America. The whole world has still not even started and in lot of other countries there are not so many as might have been concerns as there are in America. Third thing is with lower prices, OPEC countries are compelled to produce more because of the cost. So I think personally oil prices at $60 is a line which is not going to be crossed, it is a prediction, I reserve the right to be wrong but it is my opinion that to cross it is very, very difficult. Even in other metal areas, I am not very bullish on prices. I think metal prices in general may have topped out.
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