Sensex sinks 389 points, Nifty below 18,500; IT, PSBs crack; HCL Tech down 7%


Bucking the global trend, domestic equity markets fell on Friday bogged down by profit booking in IT stocks, and heavyweights like Reliance Industries, L&T, and financials. The S&P BSE Sensex, which started about 100 points higher, erased gains and dropped over 700 points from the day’s high to hit a low of 61,889.

The index, eventually, closed at 62,182, down 389 points or 0.62 per cent. The Nifty50, meanwhile, breached below the 18,500-mark and ended at 18,497, down 113 points or 0.61 per cent. It hit a low of 18,410 during the day.

In the broader markets, the MidCap and SmallCap indices shed 0.45 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Sectorally, defensive indices like the Nifty FMCG and Pharma held gains as they rose 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty IT index crashed 3.16 per cent. Credit Suisse has warned of a 10 – 27 per cent valuation-led correction in tech-related stocks amid US macro headwinds.

The Nifty PSU Bank and Realty indices were other top laggards that tumbled 1.7 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

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Sensex gains 460 points to end record-breaking year with a bang; up 22% in 2021


Key benchmark indices ended the record-breaking year 2021 on a high note. The Sensex and the Nifty displayed a firm trend throughout the day on the back of steady gains auto, financials, FMCG and index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

The Sensex touched a high of 58,409, and ended with a gain of 460 points at 58,254. In the process, the BSE benchmark was up 1,130 points for the week.

The 30-share index finished the calendar year with a solid gain of 22 per cent (10,503 points), after having touched a new life-time high of 62,245 on October 19, 2021.

The NSE Nifty settled 150 points higher at 17,354, and was up a whopping 24.1 per cent for 2021.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Metal and Consumer Durables indices were up over 2 per cent each. The Auto and Telecom indices gained 1.7 per cent each. The Bankex, FMCG, Oil & Gas and Realty indices also finished with gains in excess of a per cent each.

The overall breadth too was extremely positive, with 2,438 stocks advancing versus 944 declining stocks on the BSE on Friday.

Titan was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, it ended 3.5 per cent higher at Rs 2,522. UltraTech Cement and Kotak Bank were up around 2.5 per cent each. Maruti, Axis Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Nestle and Sun Pharma were the other major gainers.

On the flip side, IT stocks kind-off under-performed in trades on Friday owing to selective profit-taking. Among others, NTPC slipped 2 per cent.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

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Indices end choppy day in the green; Sensex up 28 points; Wipro soars 9%


The benchmark indices witnessed a see-saw trade on Friday as markets failed to breach crucial resistance zones at the higher levels. As per technical charts, if the frontline S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty surpass their psychological levels of 50,000 and 15,000 levels, respectively, then the indices may log a 4-per cent rally in the short-term.

However, with the Covid-19 situation in the country getting grimmer day by day, market participants have stayed on the sidelines. During Friday’s session, the Sensex index dropped 250 points from day’s high of 49,089 to settle 28 points, or 0.06 per cent higher at 48,832.

The NSE’s Nifty50, on the other hand, ended at 14,618 levels, up 36 points or 0.25 per cent. The index had reached an intra-day high of 14,698.

Wipro, which jumped 10 per cent in the intra-day trade and hit a record high of Rs 474 on the NSE, ended as the top gainer (up 9 per cent) on the Nifty after clocking its best performance in the March quarter in a decade. ICICI Securities said that the key highlights of the quarter were healthy deal wins, up 16.7 per cent QoQ, to $1.4 billion, healthy net addition of 7,404 employees, higher offshore up 180 bps to 54.5 per cent. READ MORE

That apart, Hindalco, Asian Paints, Cipla, BPCL, HCL Tech, and UltraTech Cement were the other best performing stocks on the Nifty, up in the range of 2 per cent to 4 per cent. On the downside, Tata Steel, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and JSW Steel slipped up to 2 per cent to end as top drags on the index.

Investor participation in the broader markets, however, remained strong with the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices settling 1.2 per cent and 1.05 per cent higher, respectively.

Sectorally, the Nifty Pharma index ended 2 per cent higher while the Nifty Auto, IT, Metal, and FMCG indices gained between 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, and Realty indices slipped up to 0.6 per cent.

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Sensex ends 110 pts lower ahead of Q2 GDP data; BSE Smallcap index up 2.4%


The benchmark indices ended Friday’s volatile session in the negative territory ahead of the release of gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the second quarter of the current fiscal (July-September period) due later in the day.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 110 points, or 0.25 per cent to 44,150 levels and the Nifty50 index ended at 12,969, down 18 points, or 0.14 per cent. Power Grid, HCL Tech, and ONGC (all down around 2 per cent) were the top Sensex laggards.

Shares of gas transmission companies rallied up to 19 per cent on the BSE during the day after oil regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) notified regulations for unified gas transmission tariff structure.

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Sensex ends 214 points higher amid broad-based buying; Asian Paints gains 4%


The Indian markets ended over half a per cent higher on Friday, lifted by financial stocks, while volatility index, India VIX, dipped 4 per cent to below 20 levels.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 214 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 38,435 levels, and the Nifty50 index ended above the 11,350-mark at 11,372, up 59 points or 0.53 per cent. NTPC (up over 4.5 per cent), Asian Paints (up over 4 per cent) and Power Grid (up over 4 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers. Asian Paints hit a record high of Rs 1,971 during the day. The stock settled at Rs 1,958.35 on the BSE.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.47 per cent while Nifty added 1.72 per cent.

On the flip side, ONGC (down over 1 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 1 per cent), and Tata Steel (down nearly 1 per cent) were the biggest losers on the index.

Among other individual stocks, GMM Pfaudler surged over 8 per cent in early deals after it said it has acquired a 54 per cent stake in its parent firm Pfaudler Group for a consideration of around $27.4 million.

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was positive, led by Nifty PSU Bank index, up 1.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the broader markets kept up their outperformance. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,954, up 0.57 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,625.19, up nearly 1.5 per cent.

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Indices extend gains, Sensex up 524 points as RIL surges over 6%


Extending their rally into the second straight day, the benchmark indices ended Friday’s session with around 1.5 per cent gains, led by Reliance Industries (RIL) as the company announced it has become net debt-free, much before its original schedule of March 31, 2021. The stock rallied 6.5 per cent to end at Rs 1,764. In the process, the company scaled the market capitalisation of Rs 11 trillion.

The S&P BSE Sensex today gained 524 points or 1.53 per cent to settle at 34,732. Of 30 stocks on the index, 18 ended in the green and rest 12 in the red. Besides RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Bharti Airtel were the major contributors to the index’s gains.

NSE’s Nifty50 ended at 10,244, up 153 points or 1.5 per cent with 33 constituents advancing, 16 declining and 1 remaining unchanged. Volatility index, India VIX, dipped over 5 per cent to 29.78 levels.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained nearly 3 per cent while Nifty added 2.7 per cent.

Sectorally, all the indices except Nifty IT and Nifty Metal ended in the green. Nifty Realty index zoomed over 6 per cent to 29.78 levels. On the other hand, Nifty IT slipped 0.35 per cent to 14,500.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 1.37 per cent to 12,804 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rallied around 1.4 per cent to 12,277.

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Sensex falls 425 points, NIFTY settles at 10,944 weighed by Autos


Benchmark indices ended over 1 per cent lower on Friday, weighed by a sharp sell-off in the automobile and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,546, down 425 points or 1.15 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,944, down 126 points or 1.14 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index, the top loser of the day, settled 3.6 per cent lower as Tata Motors, MRF and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) lost considerable ground. Nifty Metal index ended 3.4 per cent lower with SAIL and Vedanta among the top losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 203 points or 1.40 per cent lower at 14,328, while S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 13,656, down 122 points or 0.89 per cent.

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Sensex rises 386 pts as rupee recovers; Tata Steel, RIL up 3%


The benchmark indices settled over 1% higher on Friday after the rupee recovered from its all-time low and Asian peers staged a pullback.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,423, up 386 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,714, up 125 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index settled 2.8% higher led by a surge in the shares of Jindal Steel & Power, NMDC and Hindalco Industries. The Nifty PSU Bank index also rose 1.35% led by IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Syndicate Bank.

On the BSE, the S&P BSE Midcap index rose 1.8% higher on Friday and the S&P BSE Smallcap index ended 1.9% up.

Among individual stocks, Tata Steel was the biggest gainer on S&P BSE Sensex, gaining 3.6% to settle at Rs 567.85. The market heavyweight Reliance Industries also rose 3% to end at Rs 972.95 on Friday.

The rupee, which breached the 69 per dollar mark for the first time on Thursday, recovered tracking a rebound in Asian shares and currencies. The Indian currency had on Thursday breached the 69-mark but covered lost ground to finally close at an all-time low of 68.79 with a fall of 18 paise against the US dollar due to multiple headwinds like weak global cues and concerns related to inflation and fiscal slippage.
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