Banks, IT lift Sensex 355 points higher, Nifty atop 17,100; auto, pharma dip


The Sensex and Nifty ended higher for the second straight trading session on Friday backed by renewed buying interest in IT and banking stocks. Realty shares too logged strong gains, while auto and pharma shares signed-off on a weak note.

The S&P BSE Sensex gyrated in a range of 675 points; the index from a high of 58,179 slipped into red to a low of 57,504. The BSE benchmark finally ended 355 points higher at 57,990.

The NSE Nifty 50 advanced 114 points as it reclaimed the 17,100 level.

The broader markets also finished with gains. The BSE Midcap index advanced 0.3 per cent, and the Smallcap index added 0.7 per cent.

Sectorally, the BSE Realty index soared 3.2 per cent and was the top gainer. The Metal index surged 2.4 per cent. The Bankex and IT index gained over a per cent each

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Sensex gains 89 points, Nifty holds 17,350 as RBI hikes repo rate by 50 bps


It was a wild ride for the markets on Friday as a hawkish monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) led to a tug of war between bulls and bears. While an in-line repo rate hike of 50 basis points gave ammunition to the bulls, bears tried to drag the indices as inflation projections were maintained for fiscal 2022-23 (FY23) despite three consecutive rate hikes.

Overall, the S&P BSE Sensex oscillated within a band of 405 points during the day, hitting a high of 58,649, and a low of 58,244. The index ended at 58,388, up 89 points or 0.15 per cent. The Nifty50, on the other hand, closed 16 points, or 0.09 per cent, higher at 17,397 levels.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added up to 0.2 per cent. Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index fell over 1 per cent, bogged down by Balkrishna Industries (down 7 per cent), and M&M (2 per cent). On the upside, the Nifty IT index gained 0.6 per cent.

Rate-sensitive stocks hogged the limelight as Manappuram Finance soared nearly 10 per cent, clocking its biggest intra-day gain in recent times. Meanwhile, shares of State Bank of India were up 1.5 per cent and were seen inching towards a new historic peak; automobile major Bajaj Auto and realty player DLF were trading with modest gains.

The rate hike signaled the entire reversal of the Covid-era cuts. The latest rate action takes the total tally of rate hikes since May to 140 basis points. Accounting for introducing the SDF at a higher rate than the reverse repo rate in April, effective rate hikes stand at 180 bps in 2022.

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Muhurat Trading: Sensex reclaims 60k, up 296pts, Nifty ends above 17,900


The markets started Samvat 2078 on an upbeat note in the backdrop of a sharp cut in excise duty on fuel prices and a scale down in its bond-buying program by the US Federal stimulus as per expected.

At the end of its two-day meeting, the US Fed said monthly $120 billion purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities would be trimmed by $15 billion a month.

The BSE Sensex opened at the day’s high of 60,208 and ended 296 points higher at 60,068. The NSE Nifty gained 88 points at 17,917.

The broader markets also ended on a firm note. The BSE Midcap index was up 0.7 per cent at 25,992, and the Smallcap index added 1.4 per cent to 28,901.

“After a great year for equity markets, investors are looking forward to markets continue rising though not at the same pace,” said Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities.

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Sensex falls 215 points post RBI policy; Nifty at 16,238; RIL sheds 2%


Shares of Reliance Industries single-handedly knocked Sensex and Nifty lower on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Amazon, stalling Reliance Retail’s Rs 24,000 crore deal with Future Retail. Further, while RBI’s policy decision was along expected lines, the 5:1 vote on maintaining accommodative stance and rise in CPI projection for FY22 to 5.7 per cent from 5.1 per cent earlier also concerned markets, indicating that debate on inflation is gaining centre stage.

The domestic benchmark indices snapped their 4-session winning run. The 30-pack Sensex closed the day at 54,278, down 215 points or 0.39 per cent. Meanwhile, NSE Nifty settled the day 56 points or 0.35 per cent at 16,238.

IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Maruti were the top gainers in the 30-pack Sensex while Reliance Industries, Ultratech Cement, Tata Steel, HCL Tech were the top losers.

The broader markets outperformed, with Nifty Midcap index rising 0.06 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 0.04 per cent. Sectorally, Nifty Realty and Nifty Media were the top losers while Nifty IT was the best performer.

Overall, for the five days ended Friday, Nifty ended the historic week, up 1.97 per cent high, above 16,000 mark for the worst time and also snapped its two-week losing run.

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Sensex gives up 51K amid broad-based sell-off, dips 435 points; PSBs, auto hit


Extending their decline into fourth straight day, benchmark indices ended the week with over 1 per cent cut on the back of losses in Eicher Motors (7 per cent), Nestle India (5.3 per cent), Divis Labs (5.4 per cent), and Cipla (5 per cent).

On Friday, though, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex nurses losses of 435 points, or 0.85 per cent, to end the day at 50,890 levels. In the intra-day trade, the index tanked 800 points from the day’s high to hit a low of 50,624. Only 11 of the 30 constituents ended the day in green with ONGC (down 5 per cent), SBI and Axis Bank (down 3.5 per cent each), ICICI Bank (3 per cent), Baja Auto (2.6 per cent), and Maruti Suzuki (2 per cent) being the top losers.

Gains in Dr Reddy’s Labs (2.3 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2 per cent), HUL (1.7 per cent), and RIL (0.7 per cent) trimmed losses.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index gave up the 15,000-mark and settled at 14,982 levels, down 137 points or 0.9 per cent. It hit an intra-day low of 14,898.

The broader markets, too, gave up their winning ways today and ended in the red. The S&P BSE MidCap index underperformed on the BSE and 1.7 per cent down today. The SamllCap counterpart, meanwhile, settled at 0.7 per cent down.

Sectorally, none of the indices ended in the green zone today. The Nifty PSU bank index ended as the top laggard on the NSE, down 4.7 per cent, after surging nearly 6 per cent each over the past two days. That apart, Nifty Metal, Bankm and Auto indices skid 2 per cent each.

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RBI liquidity measures cheer markets; Sensex up 327 points, Nifty tops 11,900


Continuing their gaining streak for the seventh session in a row, the benchmark indices ended nearly a per cent higher on Friday after the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI left the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent but announced a slew of liquidity measures to support the economy.

Further, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the stance of the policy would remain “accommodative,” for “as long as necessary – at least during the current financial year and into the next year – to revive growth. READ MORE

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended 327 points, or 0.81 per cent higher at 40,509 levels while the Nifty50 index settled above the 11,900-mark at 11,914, up 80 points, or 0.67 per cent. On a weekly basis, Sensex rallied 4.6 per cent and Nifty gained 4.3 per cent.

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank (both up 3.64 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers, followed by SBI, and HDFC Bank (both up 3.5 per cent).

The Nifty sectoral indices were mixed. While Nifty Bank gained nearly 3 per cent to 23,847 levels, Nifty Pharma ended as the biggest loser – down over 1.3 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 0.42 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap ended 0.29 per cent lower at 14,966 levels.

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Sensex slips 129 points, Nifty ends at 11,073; RIL declines 2%


The domestic stock market ended Friday’s volatile session in the negative territory, weighed down by heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and the HDFC twins. Weak global markets following disappointing US gross domestic product (GDP) data, too, dented investor sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 129 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 37,607 while the Nifty50 index gave up the 11,100-mark to settle at 11,073, down 29 points or 0.26 per cent. India VIX declined nearly 3 per cent to 24 levels.

On a weekly basis, Sensex fell 1.36 per cent while NSE’s Nifty slipped 1 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of RIL ended 2 per cent lower at Rs 2,067 apiece on the BSE after the company reported a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 8,542 crore against Rs 14,366 crore reported during the same quarter last year. The company’s net profit, however, rose about 31 per cent to Rs 13,233 crore against Rs 10,104 crore in the same quarter last year.

State Bank of India (SBI) ended over 2.6 per cent up at Rs 191.45 after the lender posted 36.8 cent rise in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 5,559.7 crore for the quarter ended June 2020 (Q1FY21) on robust growth in net interest income.

The sectoral trend on the NSE was mixed. While pharma, PSU banks, and realty counters advanced, auto and private banks ended flat with negative bias. Nifty Pharma index gained the most – up 3.6 per cent to 11,148.90 levels.

In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained over 0.8 per cent to 5,011 while the Nifty Midcap 100 closed 0.4 per cent higher at 15,471 points.

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Sensex recovers 600 points from day’s low, ends 223 points up; FMCG, Pharma rally


Supported by buying in FMCG, pharma, and auto counters, the domestic equity market ended in the positive territory on Friday, ahead of the release of GDP data for January-March quarter of 2019-20 (Q4FY20).

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex recovered a good 600 points from day’s low to settle at 32,424.10, up 223.15 points or 0.7 per cent. ONGC (up 5.5 per cent) was the top gainer on the index while IT major Infosys (down 2 per cent) ended as the biggest loser.

NSE’s Nifty settled at 9,580, up 90 points or 1 per cent, with 36 of 50 constituents advancing and 14 declining.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 5.7 per cent and the Nifty added 6 per cent.

The broader market, too, participated in the rally. The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained over 1 per cent to 13,273 and the Nifty SmallCap 100 index rose nearly a per cent to 4,002.80.

Among individual stocks, Vodafone Idea rallied 35 per cent to Rs 7.85 in the intra-day deals on the BSE, after reports said that the global technology giant Google is in talks to buy a 5 per cent stake in the company, owned by Vodafone Plc of the UK and Aditya Birla Group. The stock, however, pared gains and ended around 13 per cent higher at Rs 6.56 after the company clarified on the report, saying there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the Board.

IT services firm Wipro surged 6.65 per cent to Rs 212.55 after the company named Thierry Delaporte as the new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the company, replacing Abidali Neemuchwala. Delaporte was most recently the chief operating officer of French consulting and technology firm Capgemini Group.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were in focus with Nifty Pharma index gaining over 3 per cent on the expectation of strong demand scenario from both the domestic and export market.

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Sensex up 147 points, Nifty holds 12,250; Infy gains nearly 1.5%


Indian equities logged gains for second straight day as positive global cues supported investment sentiment. No further rhetoric between the United States and Iran, and British Parliament’s vote to finalise Brexit divorce deal by January 31 gave boost to investment sentiment.

Indices further charged ahead and scaled intra-day high after news agency Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump could sign the Phase-1 of trade deal next week. The S&P BSE Sensex hit a high of 41,775.11 (up 322.76 points) in the intra-day deals, while NIfty50 touched 12,311.20 — also its fresh lifetime high.

At close, the Sensex was at 41,599.72 level, up 147.37 points or 0.36 per cent with ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Titan being top laggards. On the other hand, Infosys, Sun Pharma and Ultra Tech Cement settled as the top gainers.

The broader Nifty50 index, on the other hand, was 40.60 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 12,256.50-mark at close.

Sectorally, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Bank indices were the only indices that closed in the red, down 0.22 and 0.02 per cent, respectively. Nifty Realty and Metal indices, however, added 1.80 and 1.10 per cent, respectively by close.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE mid-cap index gained 0.4 per cent to close at 15,157.77, while the S&P BSE small-cap index advanced 0.45 per cent to end at 14,153.18.

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