Sensex down 87 points, Nifty holds 11,550; banks dip, metals gain


Domestic indices ended Friday’s choppy session in the negative territory. The markets remained range-bound, in the positive territory, for most part of the day but were dragged lower by index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Bajaj Finance.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed at 38,736 levels, down 87 points or 0.22 per cent. Among the gainers, YES Bank, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and Vedanta topped the charts while ONGC, Bajaj Finance, ONGC and L&T were at the lower end of the spectrum.

The broader Nifty50 too settled with cuts. The 50-share index settled at 11,552 levels, down 30 points, or 0.26 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index ended 59 points, or 0.41 per cent, higher at 14,554 levels while the BSE SmallCap index closed 22 points, or 0.16 per cent, higher at 13,776 levels.

Sectorally, banking, financial services and FMCG counters were under pressure. The Nifty Bank index closed 0.37 per cent lower followed by Nifty Financial Services index, down 0.29 per cent. Among gainers, Nifty metals, pharma and realty counters were up between 0.4-0.7 per cent.

Continue Reading


Sensex slumps 192 pts, Nifty below 11,800; pvt banks, metal stocks drag


Benchmark indices erased their early gains to close Friday’s session lower, dragged down by metal stocks.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 192 points, or 0.48 per cent, lower, with YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, and ONGC the top losers.

The broader Nifty50 index slipped 53 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 11,789. The market breadth remained in favour of sellers. About 919 stocks declined and 822 advanced on the NSE.

On a weekly basis, however, the indices gained with the Sensex closing 0.5 per cent higher and the Nifty climbing 0.6 per cent.

Among Nifty sectoral indices, only three closed the day in the green. Nifty Metal, down 1.1 per cent, took the deepest cuts while the Nifty Private Bank index dipped 0.6 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index settled 45 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower at 14,808, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index lost 10 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 14,239.

Continue Reading


Indices end flat, Sensex slips 27 pts; Suzlon Energy gains 31%


The benchmark indices settled flat on Friday amid a rise in automobile and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,871, down 27 points, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,792, up 2 points.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto index rose 1.5 per cent driven by gains in Motherson Sumi Systems and Tata Motors. The Nifty Metal index, too, rose 1.65 per cent led by Jindal Stainless (Hisar) and Welspun Corp.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 54 points, or 0.38 per cent to 14,170, while S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 13,518, up 104 points, or 0.77 per cent.

Shares of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management surged 20 per cent to Rs 224 in intra-day trade, rallying 44 per cent in past two trading sessions on the BSE, after Reliance Capital decided to put its stake in the company up for grabs. The stock settled at Rs 199, up 6.3 per cent on Friday.

Suzlon Energy jumped 31 per cent to end at Rs 5.80 on the BSE. In intra-day deals, the stock had touched a high of Rs 6.15, rallying 68.5 per cent in the past two trading sessions from a level of Rs 3.65 on Wednesday,

Continue Reading


Sensex gains 213 points post Populist Budget Proposals


The benchmark indices settled over 0.5 per cent higher on Friday after Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced a string of populist measures in his Interim Budget 2019 speech in the Parliament.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,469, up 213 points or 0.59 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,894, up 63 points or 0.58 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,641, up 81 points or 0.56 per cent, while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 13,950, up 24 points or 0.17 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index was the top gainer of the day, rising 2.71 per cent led by Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki. The Nifty IT index too rose 1.45 per cent led by HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.

In a major relief to the middle-class taxpayer, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, in his Interim Budget 2019 speech announced that those earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year would not have to pay any tax. He also said that those with an annual income of up to Rs 6.5 lakh would not have to file income-tax returns.

Goyal also announced PM Kisan Samadhan Nidhi scheme in which, farmers owning up to 2 hectares of land will get Rs 6,000 per annum, which will be completely funded by the central government. This scheme is likely to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs. 75,000 crore, he said. Apart from this, he also said that the government has set aside Rs 60,000 crore for MGNREGA this year, and allocated Rs 19,000 crore for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

The finance minister also said that the country’s defence budget for FY20 has been increased to Rs 3 lakh crore.

The government allocated Rs 64,587 crore for railways in FY20, Goyal said adding that the railway operating ratio was seen 96.2 per cent in FY19 vs 95 per cent in FY20.

Continue Reading


Sensex snaps 2-day losing streak, ends 181 points up; PSBs rally


The domestic equity indices snapped out of a two-session losing streak to settle 0.5 per cent higher on Friday led by a rise in public sector banks and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,695, up 181 points or 0.51 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,727, up 55 points or 0.52 per cent. On a weekly basis, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.05 per cent, while the Nifty 50 declined 1.22 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.48 per cent or 72 points to end the day at 15,148, while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 14,592, up 0.14 per cent or 20 points on Friday.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank rose the most on Friday, gaining 2.32 per cent led by Syndicate Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and State Bank of India (SBI). Nifty Metal too, rose 1.40 per cent led by Jindal Steel & Power, Vedanta and Tata Steel.

The rupee traded on a firm note having risen to 69.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. The domestic unit had settled at 70.17 against the greenback on Thursday.

Continue Reading


Sensex gains 197 points on Friday; RIL pips TCS to become most valued firm


The benchmark indices ended over 0.5 per cent higher led by a rise in the financial stocks and Reliance Industries (RIL).

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,457, up 197 points (0.56 per cent), while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,682, up 66 points (0.62 per cent). In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended flat at 14,998, while the S&P BSE SmallCap slipped 0.4 per cent to end at 14,486.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index settled 2 per cent higher led by Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of India.

The rupee traded on a firm note on Friday rising to 71.71 per US dollar in intra-day trade, up from its previous close of 71.98 against the greenback.

Shares of RIL on Friday rose 2.7 per cent to Rs 1,127 on the BSE helping the oil-to-telecom major pip Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become the most-valued company in terms of market capitalisation. On the BSE, RIL’s market capitalisation was at Rs 7,14,668.54 crore, while India’s largest IT firm by revenue TCS slipped to the second spot with a valuation of Rs 7,06,292.61 crore.

Shares of Rallis India, Deepak Fertilisers & Chemicals, Dixon Technologies (India), Hexaware Technologies, Take Solutions and BASF were among 22 stocks from the S&P BSE Allcap index hitting their respective 52-week lows on Friday in intra-day trade.

Continue Reading


Sensex slips 45 points, RIL falls 2.75%; Rupee hits all-time low


The benchmark indices ended flat on Friday amid weakness in the rupee, which hit a new low breaching 71 per dollar mark for the first time earlier today.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,645, down 45 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,680, up 4 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index rose 2.7 per cent led by a rise in Lupin and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. The Nifty IT index, too, settled 1.8 per cent higher led by Tech Mahindra and MindTree. However, Nifty Bank index slipped 0.15 per cent due to a fall in YES Bank’s shares.

The rupee slumped to a fresh record low of 71 against the dollar for the first time ever by falling 26 paise on persistent demand for the US currency amid rising crude prices. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened lower at 70.95 a dollar and slipped further to hit its lifetime low of 71 from its previous close of 70.74.

J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals rose 1.51% to Rs 342.20 on BSE after the company’s board of directors the buy-back of equity shares. The announcement was made during market hours today, 31 August 2018.

Continue Reading


Sensex ends at new closing high of 37,337; ITC up 5% post Q1


The benchmark indices ended at record closing high for the second straight session on Friday on strong quarterly results. The gains were led by index heavyweights like ITC, RIL, and Hindalco.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled at a record high of 37,337, up 352 points, while the broader Nifty 50 index settled at a new high of 11,278, up 111 points.

In intra-day deals, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a fresh all-time high of 37368.62 while the Nifty50 index touched its record high level of 11,283.40.

Leading the gains is ITC, which has surged over 5 per cent on the BSE. Beating street estimates, diversified conglomerate ITC on Thursday posted a 10.07 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 28.19 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 with its total revenue, inclusive of other income, registered at Rs 112.78 billion.

Among other gainers, Reliance Industries was among the top contributors to the NSE index, up over 1.5 per cent ahead of its quarterly results later in the day. The oil-to-retail conglomerate will also report results of its telecom arm Reliance Jio.

Nifty Bank index also hit an all-time high, ending 0.8% higher for the day. IDFC Bank, Federal Bank, and Axis Bank were the top gainers in the pack, up between 2 per cent to 2.6 per cent.

Continue Reading


Stocks slide to 5-month lows, Nifty ends below 10,000 on trade war fears


The BSE Sensex plunged by about 410 points to close at a five-month low while the broader Nifty crashed below the 10,000 mark for the first time this year following a global sell-off due to fears of a trade war as US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods.

The 30-share Sensex tumbled by 409.73 points or 1.24 per cent to close at a five-month low of 32,596.54, a level last seen on October 23 last year.

The 50-issue Nifty ended below the psychological 10,000-level by dropping 116.70 points or 1.15 per cent to 9,998.05, the lowest closing level in five months. The level was last seen on October 11 last year, when it had closed at 9,984.80.

Investors lost around Rs 1.57 trillion in market valuation on Friday.

For the fourth straight week, the flagship Sensex recorded a fall of 579.46 points, or 1.75 per cent, while the NSE Nifty lost 197.10 points, or 1.93 per cent.

Realty, metal, bankex, capital goods, healthcare, PSU, auto and oil & gas stocks recorded widespread losses.

Continue Reading


Indices end flat, Nifty settles at 10,227 levels; PSU banks, metals lose


The domestic indices ended largely flat on Friday taking cues from their Asian counterparts.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended 1.81% lower led by a fall in the shares of Canara Bank, IDBI Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. The Nifty Metal index too ended 1.81% down due to a fall in shares of Steel Authority of India Limited, Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Steel.

The Reserve Bank may provide four quarters to Punjab National Bank (PNB) for making provisions against the country’s biggest ever banking fraud of Rs 127 billion allegedly masterminded by billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi. The bank has written a letter to the banking sector regulator seeking its opinion on making provisions for the fraud, sources said.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,307, down 44 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10.227, down 16 points

Shares of steel companies were under pressure with Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) down more than 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 10% and 25% on imports of steel and aluminium respectively on March 8th. Meanwhile, Tata Steel slipped nearly six-month low at Rs 607, down 4% on the BSE in intra-day trade, extending its past two days 4% decline after the company on Wednesday said that it has emerged as the top bidder for debt-laden Bhushan Steel.

State-owned power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on Friday said it has won Rs 117-billion order for setting up a 3×800 Mw thermal power plant in Jharkhand.  Shares of BHEL were trading 1.34 per cent higher at Rs 87.15 on the BSE.

Continue Reading