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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ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. (ILGI) is a general insurance arm of ICICI Bank group. The Bank is in the process of unlocking value of its arms via public issues and listings. Last year the group came with first life insurance sector arm ICICI Prudential Life Insurance IPO that after initial hiccups surged and continues to do well. Now it is coming out with a maiden offer for its general insurance arm which is ranking first among private sector general insurance companies with better product mix and having better business on all fronts.
ILGI is the largest private-sector non-life insurer in India based on gross direct premium income in fiscal 2017, a position it has maintained since fiscal 2004 after being one of the first few private-sector companies to commence operations in the sector in fiscal 2002. The company offers its customers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products, including motor, health, crop/weather, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering and liability insurance, through multiple distribution channels. It was founded as a joint venture between ICICI Bank Limited, India’s largest private -sector bank in terms of consolidated total assets with and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a Canadian based holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.
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Banks led the major support with the PSU Bank index surging 6.5 percent. State Bank of India and Bank of India rallied 8-9 percent due to stable asset quality in Q1.
Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks have rallied by up to 11% in intra-day trade after the State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of India (BOI) reported June quarter results in line with the analyst forecast.
SBI and BOI rallied more than 8% each, while Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Dena Bank, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Vijaya Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda and Syndicate Bank were up between 3%-6% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The market has ended on a strong note with support from index heavyweights. The Sensex ended up 292.80 points or 1 percent at 28152.40, and the Nifty was up 80 points or 0.9 percent at 8672.15. About 1246 shares have advanced, 1413 shares declined, and 181 shares are unchanged.
SBI was up 7 percent, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, M&M and HDFC were top gainers while Cipla, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints and Lupin were losers.
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