Sensex up 200 points; financials, metals lead gainers


Markets started the July F&O series with impressive gains on Friday as hefty buying in metals, financials, and pharma sectors lifted indices for the second day. The Nifty PSU Bank index closed 2.7 per cent higher on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) amid renewed privatisation buzz and fund-raising by banks.

That apart, the Nifty Metal index zoomed 2.5 per cent after Russian government said it is preparing new export taxes from August 1 for steel products, nickel, aluminium and copper which will cost their producers $2.3 billion.

The Nifty Bank, Private Bank, Pharma, and auto indices, meanwhile, rose between 0.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent.

Overall, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex index added 226 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle the session at 52,925 levels while the Nifty50 index shut shop at 15,863-mark, up 73 points or 0.46 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advanced 1 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Tata Steel (up nearly 4 per cent), Axis Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, and Coal India made it to the list of outperforming stocks in the large-cap segment while Vodafone Idea, Apollo Hospitals, SAIL, Ashok Leyland, Allcargo Logistics, Uttam Sugar Mills, and Ajmera Realty marched aheead in the broader market space.

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Sensex ends choppy day 42 points up; Asian Paints jumps 8%, Tata Steel down 4%


Domestic equity markets traded within a narrow range on Friday, fluctuating between gains and losses, as a slew of downgrades in the GDP growth forecasts for FY22 along with a slowdown in the vaccination programme amid supply crunch kept investors indecisive about the market direction.

India recorded over 343,000 fresh Covid-19 infections on Friday, taking the caseload tally to a little over 24 million. According to a government official, two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be made available in the country between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population. This comes after Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka decided to suspend the vaccination for people in the 18-44 age group till further orders amid an acute shortage of vaccines.

However, favourable global cues helped the indices to limit losses. In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 per cent, with banks and retail stocks leading the gains, following a healthy session in Asia.

Against this backdrop, the BSE barometer of 30-shares culminated the session at 48,732.5 levels, adding 42 points or 0.09 per cent. During the choppy session, the index hit a high and low of 48,899 and 48,473, respectively.

On the NSE, the broader 50-share index defended the 14,650-mark to settle at 14,678 levels, down 19 points or 0.13 per cent.

Overall, 21 of the 30 shares on the Sensex and 34 of the 50 constituents of the Nifty ended the day in the red. Coal India, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Grasim, and IndusInd Bank on the Nifty and M&M, SBI, ONGC, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and NTPC on the Sensex ended the day as top laggards.

On a weekly basis, both, the Sensex and the Nifty50 indices slipped around 1 per cent each.

On the upside, Asian Paints, UPL, ITC, Nestle India, L&T, HUL, Britannia, PowerGrid, and Reliance Industries were the combined top gainers of the day.

Profit-taking in the broader markets was sharper than benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices lost 1.2 per cent each.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index nursed the steepest loss of around 4 per cent, followed the Nifty Realty index, down 3 per cent and the Nifty PSU Bank and Auto indices, down 2 per cent each. On the upside, only Nifty FMCG index ended in the green, up 2 per cent.

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Sensex gains 257 points, ends above 49K; Nifty holds 14,800; Nifty Metal up 5%


Firm global cues and healthy corporate earnings back home helped domestic equity indices to settle higher for third straight day on Friday. In Europe, stocks hit a record high as strong economic data from Germany and other major economies as well as upbeat earnings underpinned hopes of a swift economic recovery from the pandemic.

The frontline indices gained little over 0.5 per cent as volatility gauge, India VIX, eased 5.5 per cent, propelled largely by metal stocks. The Nifty Metal index advanced 5 per cent on the NSE while all other sectoral indices clocked gains between 0.04 per cent and 1 per cent. The Nifty PSU Bank index was the only loser, down 0.14 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the benchmark Nifty50 shut shop at 14,823 levels, up 98 points. On the BSE, the 30-share Sensex index closed 257 points higher at 49,206 levels.

Individually, Tata Steel, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, SBI Life, M&M, and HDFC were the top Nifty gainers of the day while Tata Consumer Products, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, and Eicher Motors declined up to 3.5 per cent.

Trading in the broader markets, however, remained mixed. The S&P BSE MidCap index dipped 0.04 per cent while the SmallCap index ended 0.15 per cent higher.

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Indices decline for 3rd straight week; Sensex slips 202 points, ends below 48K


Benchmark indices oscillated between gains and losses on Friday as concerns over the second wave of Covid-19 in the country and nervousness in the global markets overpowered the risk appetite of bargain hunters.

After starting gap-down, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex recouped all the losses and jumped nearly 200 points to hit a high of 48,265 in the intra-day deals. However, bears roared back on Street and sent the index down 600 points from the day’s high to a low of 47,669. It eventually nursed losses of 202 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end the day at 47,878.45 levels.

On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 closed at 14,341 levels, down 65 points or 0.45 per cent. The index hit a high and low of 14,461 and 14,273 in the intra-day deals.

Over 30 constituents in the Nifty ended the session in the red including Britannia (down 2.6 per cent), Dr Reddy’s Labs, M&M, Wipro, Grasim, Hindalco, and Tech Mahindra. On the Sensex, HUL, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Infosys closed as top laggards.

On the upside, NTPC (up 4 per cent), Power Grid, HDFC Life, SBI Life, BPCL, Coal India, and HDFC outperformed the benchmark indices.

The overall market breadth remained in the favour of the bulls, courtesy rally in the broader markets. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.2 per cent today while the S&P BSE SmallCap index added 0.5 per cent riding on the back of gains in Confidence Petroleum India, HFCL, MTNL, Panacea Biotech, Indian Bank, Indian Hotel, Muthoot Finance, and Varroc Engineering.

The overall advances on the BSE were 1,566 while 1,357 were the declines. About 170 counters remained unchanged.

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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 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 tanks 634 points on Friday on broad-based sell-off; Nifty Bank slips 2%


The Indian markets ended over 1.5 per cent lower on Friday amid across-the-board sell-off. The volatility index, India VIX, rose over 7 per cent to 21.95 levels.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 634 points, or 1.63 per cent, to settle at 38,357 levels. Of 30 constituents, 29 declined and just one advanced. Axis Bank (down 4 per cent) ended as the biggest loser on the index. On the other hand, Maruti ended as the only gainer (up nearly 2 cent).

Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC, ICICI Bank, and Infosys were the major contributors to the Sensex’s loss.

NSE’s Nifty ended at 11,334, down 194 points or 1.68 per cent.

On a weekly basis, Sensex declined 2.8 per cent while NSE slipped 2.69 per cent.

All the Nifty sectoral indices were painted red, led by Nifty Metal, which slipped 3 per cent to 2,451 levels. Nifty Bank dipped over 2 per cent to 23,011.50 levels, with all the 12 constituents declining.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 1.74 per cent to 14,817 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index fell over 1 per cent to 14,603 points.

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Sensex slips 143 points amid weak global cues; financials decline


The Indian stock market ended Friday’s volatile session in the negative territory amid weak global cues. The relentless rise in Covid-19 cases both in India as well as on the global front weighed on investor sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 143 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 36,594 levels while NSE’s Nifty ended at 10,768, down 45 points or 0.42 per cent.

HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank contributed the most to the Sensex’s fall. Axis Bank ended as the top loser on the index while Reliance Industries (RIL) ended as the biggest gainer – up around 3 per cent. RIL hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 1,884.40 during the day before settling at Rs 1,878.50 on the BSE.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.6 per cent while Nifty rose 1.5 per cent.

The sectoral trends on the NSE remained mixed. While financials, metals and auto stocks declined in the trade, pharma, FMCG, and realty counters rallied. The Nifty Pharma gained 0.85 per cent to 10,072.25 levels. On the other hand, Nifty Bank slipped over 2 per cent to 22,398.45 points.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 0.72 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index declined 0.35 per cent.

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IT stocks, HDFC Bank, RIL help Sensex settle 329 points higher


Rally in information technology (IT) stocks, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries (RIL) helped the benchmark index, S&P BSE Sensex, settle with 329 points or 0.94 per cent gains at 35,171 levels on Friday.

NSE’s Nifty rallied 94 points or 0.91 per cent to end at 10,383. Volatility index, India VIX, dropped over 4 per cent to 28.50 levels.

IT stocks advanced in the trade after Accenture posted a better than expected quarterly numbers. The S&P BSE Information Technology index jumped over 5 per cent to end at 15,125 levels. Among individual stocks, Infosys gained 7 per cent, TCS rose 5 per cent while Wipro ended over 3 per cent higher. READ MORE

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.26 per cent while Nifty added 1.35 per cent.

The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.27 per cent higher at 13,258.44 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 0.19 per cent to 12,630 points.

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RIL, HUL help Sensex end 199 points up; Nifty settles at 9,251


Benchmark indices once again failed to hold on to the day’s high levels on Friday and pared most of its gains at the end of the session, amid selling in financial, auto and metal stocks. However, oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries (RIL) and FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) helped the indices to settle in the positive territory.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 31,642.70, up 199 points or 0.63 percent, with HUL (up nearly 5 percent) being the top gainer and NTPC (down nearly 4 percent) the biggest loser.

On the NSE, the benchmark Nifty ended at 9,251.50, up 52 points or 0.57 percent. Volatility index, India VIX, declined nearly 3.5 percent to 38.53 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended flat at 11,423.81 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.45 percent to 10,638.70 levels.

Shares of Cyient were locked in a 10% lower circuit on lower-than-expected Q4 results. A combined 2.65 million equity shares had changed hands on the counter and there were pending sell orders for around 82,000 shares on the NSE and BSE. The stock of the IT consulting and software firm was trading close to its 52-week low of Rs 200 touched on April 28, 2020.

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