Sensex ends 372 points lower; Paytm down 27%; Sapphire gains 4%, Escorts 10%


The key benchmark indices exhibited high volatility in trades on Thursday. The key indices witnessed wilted under severe selling pressure in the first-half of the day, before staging a partially mid-way, only to lose ground once again.

The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, touched a high of 60,178 in early deals, and soon slipped into the negative zone. The index dropped to a low of 59,377, and eventually ended lower for the third straight trading session, down 372 points at 59,636.

In the process, the Sensex shed 1,082 points in the last three trading sessions, and was down 1.7 per cent (1,051 points) for the week. The markets will be shut for trading on Friday on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti.

The NSE Nifty declined 134 points to 17,765, and was down 1.9 per cent (338 points) for the week.

The broader indices ended with deeper cuts, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 1.5 per cent each. Among sectors, the Metal index shed 2.8 per cent, and the Auto index tumbled 2.3 per cent. All sectoral indices ended in the negative zone.

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Sensex adds 138 points; Zomato ends 65% up over issue price at Rs 126 on BSE


After a volatile start, benchmark indices swiftly rose in noon deals to end near the day’s high level on Friday. ICICI Bank and ITC (up 3 per cent each), followed by Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, and HCL Tech were the top contributors towards the indices’ rally.

At close, the S&P BSE Sensex quoted at 52,976 levels, up 138.5 points, or 0.26 per cent. The broader Nifty50, meanwhile, settled above the psychological level of 15,850 at 15,856, up 32 points or 0.2 per cent. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices, however, underperformed the benchmarks with the former slipping 0.07 per cent while the latter added 0.11 per cent.

Shares of ITC moved higher by 3 per cent at Rs 213.60 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday, on back of heavy volumes, ahead of its April-June quarter (Q1FY22) earnings on Saturday, July 24. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.39 per cent at 53,041 levels at 02:20 pm. Trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 36 million equity shares having changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.

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Sensex ends volatile trade 12 points up; RIL jumps 6% this week, ITC down 7%


Domestic markets ended a tumultuous week on a flat note amid subdued trade in Asia and bleak UK economic data. The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that the UK’s gross domestic product shrank 9.9 per cent in 2020, its biggest decline on record.

Indices turned sharply lower in the fag-end of the session but recovered marginally to end mildly higher. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 543 points from the day’s high to hit an intra-day low of 51,261. At close, the index was at 51,544 levels, up 13 points or 0.02 per cent. The NSE’s Nifty50, meanwhile, ended at 15,163 level, down 10 points or 0.07 per cent.

ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC, and Axis Bank were the top gainers on the Sensex index while Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and Wipro were the top performing stocks on the Nifty. ITC, Sun Pharma, ONGC, and Bharti Airtel were the top drags on both the indices.

Broader markets, too, ended mixed today. The S&P BSE MidCap index was up 0.06 per cent at close while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled 0.02 per cent lower.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty Metal index skid 1.7 per cent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index declined 1.5 per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, Nifty Private Bank and the Nifty Bank indices gained 1 per cent each.

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Sensex ends 117 points up, logs best weekly gain in 10 months; SBI jumps 11%


Stellar December quarter results by State Bank of India (SBI) and a status-quo in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept markets afloat on Friday even as mild profit-booking amid heightened volatility trimmed gains at higher levels.

In the early deals, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex surpassed the 51,000-mark on the BSE for the first time and hit a fresh record high of 51,073. The index, however, erased gains partially and ended 117 points, or 0.23 per cent, higher at 50,732 levels.

SBI (up 11.3 per cent) was the top gainer on the index as analysts raised their targets on the stock post better-than-expected December quarter results. Global brokerage CLSA, for instance, has set a target price of Rs 560 on the lender’s stock. READ MORE

Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy’s Labs, ITC, HUL, and HDFC Bank, all up between 1 per cent and 4 per cent, were the other top gainers on the index. On the downside, Axis Bank (down 3 per cent), Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, and HCL Tech were the top laggards on the index.

On the other hand, Nifty50 index surpassed the psychological 15,000-mark and hit a record high of 15,015 levels. At close, the index was at 14,924 levels, up 29 points or 0.19 per cent.

The broader markets, however, came under selling pressure. The S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended 0.93 per cent and 0.28 per cent lower, respectively.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty Auto an the IT indices ended 1 per cent lower each, while the Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 4 per cent on the NSE.

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Sensex ends at day’s low, down 746 points ; Bajaj Auto jumps 11%; RIL down 2%


Investors took some profit off the table on Friday after markets scaled historic levels a day before, when the S&P BSE Sensex surpassing the 50,000-mark for the first time. That said, investors rewarded stocks of the firms that delivered strong Q3FY21 results.

In the intra-day trade, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged 790 points and hit a low of 48,835 levels. The index settled around day’s low level of 48,878 levels, down 746 points or 1.5 per cent. Financial bore the maximum brunt with Axis Bank declining 4.4 per cent on the Sensex, followed by SBI (3.5 per cent), ICICI Bank (3.7 per cent), and IndusInd Bank (3.5 per cent).

On the flipside, Bajaj Auto, HUL, TCS, Ultratech Cement, and Bajaj Finserv were the only gainers on the Sensex.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled at 14,372 levels, down 218 points or 1.5 per cent.

The broader markets, however, fared slightly better. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 1.1 per cent lower at 18,777.46 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 18,442 levels, down 0.93 per cent.

Sectorally, most of the key indices settled lower. The Nifty Metal index underperformed the benchmark and closed 4 per cent lower. Among individual stocks, SAIL fell 14 per cent, JSPL slipped 8 per cent, and Hindustan Copper declined over 4 per cent.

That apart, Nifty Bank index tanked over 1,000 points, or 3.25 per cent, to close at 31,176 levels.

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Sensex ends at fresh closing peak of 48,782, up 689 points; Nifty at 14,347


Earnings optimism and positive global cues fuelled a broad-based rally in the markets with benchmark indices settling over a per cent higher on Friday. IT stocks led from the front and contributed nearly half of Sensex’s 600-point gains today. Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, and L&T provided the remaining fillip to the BSE barometer.

The S&P BSE Sensex notched 689 points, or 1.43 per cent, to end at fresh closing peak of 48,782.5. The index hit a new lifetime high of 48,854.34 levels earlier in the day. The Sensex index gained 2 per cent during the week and clocked the longest stretch of weekly gains since 2009.

Maruti Suzuki jumped 6 per cent and remained the top Sensex gainer, followed by Tech Mahindra, up 5 per cent. The IT company today entered the elite Rs 1-trillion market capitalisation club, becoming the fifth IT firm to achieve the feat. At close, its m-cap was Rs 1.01 trillion.

That apart, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) hit a record high of Rs 3,127.55 apiece in the intra-day trade and closed 3 per cent higher ahead of the announcement of Q3FY21 results. The IT firm’s revenue in constant currency (CC) terms is expected to rise in the range of 2.4-4 per cent on quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis while it may grow between 3-4.5 per cent in dollar revenue.

The broader Nifty50 too, ended at fresh closing peak of 14,347, closing 210 points or 1.48 per cent higher on the NSE. 41 of the 50 constituents ended the day in the green. The index touched lifetime high of 14,367 in noon deals today. For the week, the index was up 2.3 per cent.

In the mid-cap space, S&P BSE MidCap index, though underperformed the frontline index, settled 1 per cent higher at 19,138.7 level after hitting a record peak of 19,161 earlier in the day, and clocked a 5-per cent weekly gain. The S&P BSE SmallCap index, on the other hand, ended at 18,908.59 levels, up 0.72 per cent.

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Maruti, HDFC help Sensex settle 127 points higher; Nifty tops 11,900


A healthy buying in auto, technology, and select bank stocks helped benchmark indices settle in the green on Friday.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled 127 points, or 0.31 per cent higher at 40,686 levels while NSE’s Nifty ended at 11,930, up 34 points, or 0.28 per cent. The volatility index, India Vix, slipped over 3.5 per cent to 21.82 levels.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.75 per cent while Nifty added 1.42 per cent.

Auto major Maruti (up over 4 per cent) ended as the biggest gainer on Sensex while UltraTech Cement (down over 2 per cent) was the top loser.

The broader market continued to outperform frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.59 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rallied 0.7 per cent to 15,135 levels.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto gained nearly 3 per cent to 8,095 levels.

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Sensex ends 255 points higher; financial, metal stocks advance


The domestic stock market regained some lost ground on Friday, a day after benchmark indices tumbled around 2.5 per cent. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 255 points, or 0.64 per cent higher at 39,983 levels, thanks to healthy buying in the financial counters. NSE’s Nifty ended at 11,762 levels, up 82 points, or 0.7 per cent. India VIX declined nearly 2 per cent to 21.64 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 1 per cent to 14,621 points while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled nearly 1 per cent higher at 14,787 levels.

Shares of IDBI Bank surged 18% on government stake sale plan report. The government currently owns a 47.11 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. In January 2019, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) completed the acquisition of 51 per cent controlling stake in the lender. The state-owned life insurer infused Rs. 21,624 crore into the bank.

Shares of steel companies were in demand on Friday, rallying by up to 6 per cent on the BSE on the expectation of demand recovery. JSW Steel advanced 6 per cent to Rs 308, hitting a fresh 52-week high on the BSE. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 298 touched on October 9, 2020. Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power and Steel Authority of India (SAIL), on the other hand, were up 3 per cent to 6 per cent on the BSE.

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Sensex jumps 629 points on broad-based buying; Nifty Bank up 3.7%


The benchmark indices ended over 1.5 per cent higher on Thursday amid across-the-board buying.

Among headline indices, the S&P BSE Sensex ended 629 points, or 1.65 per cent higher at 38,697 levels while the Nifty50 index topped the 11,400-mark to settle at 11,417, up 1.5 per cent. The volatility index, India VIX, slipped nearly 6.5 per cent to 18.27 levels.

IndusInd Bank (up over 12 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (up over 5 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers, followed by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tech Mahindra (all up 4 per cent).

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 3.4 per cent while Nifty added 3.3 per cent. The markets will remain closed on Friday (October 2) on account of Gandhi Jayanti.

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was positive, led by Nifty Private Bank index, up over 4 per cent. The Nifty Bank index rallied 3.7 per cent to 22,246 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.73 per cent higher at 14,813 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,970, up 0.69 per cent.

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Indices gain for 6th day as financials zoom; Sensex ends 354 points higher


The bulls continued to dominate markets on Friday, thanks to a healthy buying in financial counters. The S&P BSE Sensex gained for the sixth consecutive session to settle at 39,467 levels, up 354 points, or 0.9 per cent.

NSE’s Nifty ended at 11,648, up 88 points or 0.76 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, continued to decline and ended at 18.24 levels, down nearly 3.5 per cent.

Sun Pharma surges 4%, hits 52-week high; stock rallies 76% from March-low. For the quarter ended June 2020, Sun Pharma had reported a surprise loss due to one-time charges. The company’s US business posted a 33.5 per cent decline during the quarter, while India sales were up 3.2 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Consolidated sales from operations at Rs 7,467 crore, a decline of about 9.6 per cent over the same quarter last year.

Shares of Edelweiss Financial Services rose as much as 3.16 per cent to Rs 86.50 on the BSE on Friday after Hong-Kong based private equity group PAG picked up 51 per cent stake in Edelweiss Wealth Management (EWM) for Rs 2,200 crore. The Edelweiss Group runs corporate and retail credit, wealth management, asset management and life and general insurance businesses.

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