Sensex up 247 points, Nifty holds 11,300; IT, metals advance


Some brisk buying in industry heavyweights such as Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), and Bharti Airtel helped benchmark indices settle with decent gains on Friday. Additionally, positive global cues, too, boosted investor sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 247 points or 0.65 per cent to end at 38,127.08 levels, with Infosys (up 4 per cent) being the top gainer and YES Bank (down over 3 per cent) the biggest loser. During the session, the index hit a high and low of 38,345.41 and 37,737.85, respectively.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 13,780.99 levels, up 33 points or 0.24 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap gained 49 points or 0.38 per cent to close at 12,772.07.

On the NSE, the headline index Nifty50 ended at 11,301.25 levels, up 67 points or 0.59 per cent.

Sectorally, barring media and private bank, all the indices on the NSE ended in the green. The Nifty Metal index ended at 2,335.20 levels, up 2.27 per cent.

Continue Reading


Sensex loses 167 points, Nifty ends at 11,512; metals, realty dip


Selling in select blue-chip counters such as HDFC, IndusInd Bank, TCS, L&T, ONGC, and Vedanta and weak global cues dragged the equity market lower on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 167 points or 0.43 per cent to settle at 38,822.57 while the Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed the day at 11,512.40, down 59 points or 0.51 per cent.

On a weekly basis, however, Sensex gained 2.12 per cent while Nifty added 2.11 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-cap index ended at 14,266, down 90 points or 0.62 per cent and the S&P BSE Small-cap index lost 109 points or 0.81 per cent to settle at 13,332 levels.

On the sectoral front, metal stocks slipped the most with the Nifty Metal index ending 2.64 per cent lower at 2,453.95 levels. Realty and pharma counters were the other leading losers of the day.

Continue Reading


Indices post biggest 1-day gain in 10 yrs, Sensex up 1,921 points


It was a historic day for the equity markets on Friday as the frontline indices rallied over 5 per cent after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced reduction in corporation tax. The FM announced that the effective corporate tax rate will be lowered to 25.75 per cent.

Benchmark indices – S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty50 — posted their biggest single-day gain in 10 years while the Nifty Bank and Nifty MidCap index posted the biggest-ever single-day gain. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed stocks saw an increase of nearly Rs 7 lakh crore.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex added 1,921 points or 5.32 per cent to settle at 38,014.62, with Hero MotoCorp (up 13 per cent) being the top gainer and Power Grid Corporation (down over 2 per cent) the biggest loser.

On NSE, the Nifty50 index ended at 11,274 levels, up 569 points or 5.32 per cent, with 44 out of 50 constituents advancing and 6 ending in the red.

Volatility index India VIX dropped over 1 per cent to settle at 15.34 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 835 points or over 6 per cent to end at 14,120 and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index settled at 13,204.25, up 501 points or nearly 4 per cent.

On the sectoral front, barring IT stocks, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. The Nifty IT index settled 0.20 per cent lower at 15,491.05 levels.

Continue Reading


Sensex up 228 points on reports that Govt. may rollback higher tax on FPIs


Indices settled higher on Friday ahead of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s media address, scheduled later in the day, wherein measures to revive the economy, clarity on the possible rollback of super-rich tax on FPIs, and implementation of direct tax code (DTC) are expected.

That apart, investors were also eyeing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming for clarification on whether the US central bank remains on course to deliver another interest rate cut in next month.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled 228 points, or 0.63 per cent, higher at 36,701 levels lifted by gains in metals, and public sector banks’ stocks. Vedanta, YES Bank, ONGC, and M&M were the top gainers at the 30-share index, while IndusInd Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank, and Power Grid ended as top laggards. The broader Nifty50, too, closed at 10,829-mark, up 88 points or 0.82 per cent.

The Sensex and Nifty50 settled nearly 600 and 192 points higher, respectively from the day’s low.

For the week, both Sensex and Nifty50 settled in the negative territory for second week in a row, down 2 per cent each. Further, Nifty Bank index slipped 4.5 per cent this week, registering the biggest weekly fall in 11 months, while Nifty mid-cap index settled 3 per cent lower, its biggest monthly fall.

Continue Reading


Sensex settles 39 points higher; IT, pharma stocks decline


Markets ended flat on Friday dragged by uncertainty over announcement of any revival package by the government and weak global cues. Indices remained lacklustre for better part of the day, only to turn volatile in the afternoon trading session.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled with gains of 39 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 37,350 levels led by banking and automobile stocks. The gains were, however, capped by losses in the technology and metal scrips. Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, YES Bank, and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers at the 30-share index, while TCS, Vedanta, HCL Tech, and HDFC were the top laggards. The broader Nifty50, too, closed at 11,048-mark, up 18 points or 0.17 per cent.

Sectorally, public sector banks gained the most, with the Nifty PSU Bank index closing 1.5 per cent higher. This was followed by Nifty auto index, up 1.15 per cent. Nifty IT and pharma indices ended with cuts of 0.65 per cent and 0.77 per cent, respectively.

In the intra-day trade, the Sensex and Nifty50 slumped to lows of 36,974 and 10,924 levels, down 337 points and 105 points respectively.

In the broader market, S&P BSE mid-cap ended the day at 13,491 level, up 14 points or 0.10 per cent. Further, S&P BSE small-cap settled at 12,585 level, up 14 points, or 0.11 per cent.

Continue Reading


Sensex tanks 395 points as Budget 2019 fails to cheer investors


Domestic indices plummeted on Friday as Modi government’s Union Budget for 2019-20 failed to cheer investors. Even though the markets opened higher with the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex zooming past the 40,000 mark to hit 40,032, the index fell over 500 points from the highs.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 395 points, or 0.99 per cent, lower at 39,513 levels with the YES Bank, NTPC and Mahindra & Mahindra being the top laggards. The broader Nifty50 index tanked 136 points, or 1.14 levels, to end at 11,811 levels.

In the broader market, S&P BSE Mid-Cap ended 208 points, or 1.39 per cent, lower at 14,726 levels while the S&P BSE Small-Cap dipped 195 points, or 1.36 levels, to settle at 14,142 levels.

Sectorally, all the indices ended in the red except Nifty PSU bank and Nifty Bank index that gained after the finance minister announced that the government will pump in Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks (PSBs) to strengthen them and enhance their lending capacity.

Metals, realty and auto counters were the biggest losers after the Budget proposed import duty hike for auto-parts, metals and other equipment used for manufacturing capital goods. Each index slipped over 3 per cent. PSU Bank index closed 0.18 per cent higher after gaining nearly 4 per cent intra-day on government’s proposal to recapitalize banks.

Continue Reading


Sensex gains 127 pts, Nifty ends at 11,624 on last day of FY19


The benchmark indices ended on a positive note for the second straight day on Friday, the last trading day of the financial year (FY19) 2018-19 amid buying in metals, pharma, and auto stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,673, up 127 points or 0.33 per cent with Vedanta being the top gainer and IndusInd Bank the biggest loser.

The NSE’s Nifty50 index closed above the crucial 11,600 level at 11,624, up 54 points or 0.47 per cent.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained around 1.30 per cent while Nifty added 1.45 per cent.

During the financial year, Sensex climbed 16 per cent and Nifty50 index gained around 14 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index surged 151 points or 0.99 per cent to close at 15,480. The S&P BSE SmallCap rose 109 points or 0.73 per cent to end at 15,027.

Shares of Ipca Laboratories, Varun Beverages, Merck, Adani Gas, Future Lifestyle, Gujarat Fluorochemicals and Muthoot Finance were among 14 stocks hitting their respective all-time highs on the BSE on Friday.

Continue Reading


Sensex pares some gains, ends 269 points up, Nifty above 11,400


After surging 500 points in the intra-day trade, the S&P BSE Sensex witnessed a sharp fall at the fag-end of the session, mainly due to profit-booking to end at 38,024, up 269 points or 0.71 per cent. Financial stocks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank contributed the most to the index’s gains while Reliance Industries (RIL), ITC and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) emerged as the biggest drags.

The NSE’s benchmark index Nifty50 closed above 11,400 level at 11,427, up 84 points or 0.74 per cent. The index hit a high of 11,487 levels during the day.

Both Sensex and Nifty reclaimed their crucial levels of 38,000 and 11,400 levels, respectively in the intra-day trade after a gap of six months.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 3.68 per cent and Nifty added 3.54 per cent.

Market breadth remained in favour of declines as out 2,860 companies traded on BSE, 1,476 declined and 1,209 advanced while 175 remained unchanged. A total of 59 securities hit their 52-week highs while 111 scrips hit their one-year lows.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 83 points, or 0.55 per cent higher at 15,172, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 14,837, up 51 points or 0.34 per cent.

Banking barometer Nifty Bank, too hit a fresh record high of 29,520.70 during the day. It ended at 29,381.45, up over 1.50 per cent with 10 out of 12 constituents ending in the green.

Continue Reading


Sensex ends 54 points down, Nifty at 11,035; Wipro falls 4%


Benchmark indices ended marginally lower on Friday led by a fall in ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC, RIL and Axis Bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,671, down 54 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,035, down 23 points.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal index ended 1.5 per cent lower with Jindal Steel & Power and MOIL among the top losers. The Nifty IT index, too, settled 1.1 per cent lower, dragged by Wipro and Infibeam Avenues

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 12 points, or 0.08 per cent lower at 14,804, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 14,529, down 11 points, or 0.08 per cent.

Shares of Wipro fell 5 per cent to Rs 256 in intra-day trade on the BSE in after huge block deals were executed on the counter. Till 11:22 am, a combined 57.86 million equity shares, representing 1.3 per cent equity, of Wipro had changed hands on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE. The stock ended at Rs 256.50, down 4.6 per cent.

Shares of Allahabad Bank hit a 52-week high of Rs 58.20, up 6.5 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade, extending its past three weeks’ rally after the government announced capital infusion of Rs 6,896 crore in the bank.The stock settled 4.39 per cent higher at Rs 57.05.

Continue Reading


Sensex gains 196 points, Nifty tops 10,850; PSBs jump up to 12%


Heavy buying in financials, autos, metals and pharma counters and positive global cues lifted the equity markets on Friday.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 196 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 36,064, while the NSE’s Nifty50 index closed at 10,863.50, up 71 points or 0.66 per cent.

On a weekly basis, the 30-share index Sensex rose 0.53 per cent while Nifty gained 0.66 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of SBI Life Insurance climbed 5.47 per cent to Rs 612.25 on the BSE after CA Emerald Investments (“Emerald”) acquired 9 per cent stake in the company through open market on Friday. The stock made a sharp rebound after falling over 12 per cent in the early trade.

Shares of SML Isuzu were locked in upper circuit of 20 per cent at Rs 682 on the BSE after the company reported strong 33 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in total sales at 1,282 units in February.

On the contrary, Bharti Airtel ended over 3 per cent lower at Rs 307.75 apiece on BSE after the company said its board of directors approved a fund raising plan of up to Rs 32,000 crore through a mix of rights issue and bond.

Sectorally, all the indices ended in the green, with media stocks advancing the most, followed by PSU banks and metals. The Nifty PSU Bank index ended over 2.50 per cent higher at 2,832 levels with all the 12 constituents ending in the positive territory.

In the broader market, S&P BSE MidCap index gained 184 points or over 1 per cent to settle at 14,503 while S&P BSE SmallCap surged over 2 per cent to end at 13,982.

Continue Reading