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 slips 79 pts, Nifty ends at 10,585; IT stocks weigh


The benchmark indices ended slightly lower on Friday led by a fall in information technology (IT) and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,159, down 79 points, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,585, down 13 points.

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index fell 0.8 per cent weighed by Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.9 per cent due to a decline in NMDC. On the other hand, the Nifty Pharma index settled 1.4 per cent higher led by a rise in Sun Pharma.

In stock-specific action, Bharti Airtel fell 2.9 per cent to Rs 297 on the BSE after Moody’s Investors Service placed it’s rating on review for downgrade, following low levels of profitability and expectation of weak cash flow. The stock had fallen as much as 5.21 per cent to Rs 290 on the BSE in intra-day trade.

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Markets snap 4-day record closing trend, end flat; Nifty up 2% for the week


The markets ended flat, snapping 4-day record closing trend after opening at record highs after information technology heavyweight Infosys’ June quarter results beat Street estimates, while TCS, which declared its results post market hours on Thursday, was the top loser on Sensex and Nifty.

The BSE Sensex settled the day at 32,020, down 16 points while the broader Nifty50 index ended at 9,886, down 5 points

Nifty IT index was the top sectoral loser, down over 1% for the day dragged by Just Dial, TCS, Wipro and Tata Elxsi. Infosys also slipped in red, ending 0.7% down for the day after rising nearly 3% in early-morning trade.

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