Sensex slides 330 points on Moody’s downgrade; Sun Pharma down 4%


Equity market was highly volatile in the afternoon session on Friday with the benchmark indices oscillating berween the positive and negative territories after Moody’s Investors Services downgraded India’s sovereign outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, saying concerns mount the economic slowdown will be prolonged and debt will rise.

After hitting a fresh record high of 40741.69 levels during the session, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex was trading around 100 points lower. Private Banks were trading higher, with ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and YES Bank up in the range of 3-7 per cent. On the downside, Sun Pharma was trading nearly 3 per cent lower.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 slipped below the crucial 12,000-mark to hover around 11,950 levels. .

Sectorally, Nifty Realty index was the top gainer, up 2.3 per cent, followed by gains in Nifty Private Bank (up 0.74 per cent), and Nifty Auto (up 0.58 per cent) indices. On the flipside, Nifty Pharma and FMCG indices, each, were trading over a per cent lower.

The broader markets, however, were trading in the green. The S&P BSE mid-cap index was up 0.06 per cent, while the S&P BSE small-cap index was up 0.12 per cent.

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Bulls take charge ahead of exit polls: Sensex up 537 pts; Nifty over 11,400


Sensex and Nifty surged on the final day of a volatile week on Friday with both the benchmark indices gaining over a per cent each ahead of exit polls outcome on Monday.

Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, and ITC were the biggest contributors in Sensex’s march to the north.

The benchmark Sensex zoomed almost 1.5 per cent, up 537 points, to close at 37,931, with Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Auto registering the biggest gains. Market breadth remained in favour of buyers with the advance-decline ratio at 3:2.

The broader Nifty50 also surged 1.33 per cent, or 150 points, to end the day at 11,407. About 1,029 stocks advanced and 723 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Among sectoral indices, only three indices remained in the red, with Nifty Media gaining the highest 3.53 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Finance Service, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Bank all rose more than 2 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap gained 153 points, or 1.08 per cent, at 14,308.36, while the S&P BSE SmallCap also rose 70 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 13,887.

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Sensex gains 336 points; Nifty above 11,750; financials advance


A sudden surge in the benchmark indices, lifted by gains in financials and metals, took Sensex nearly 300 points higher and Nifty beyond the 11,700 mark after a range bound morning trade.

At 2:10 PM, Sensex was trading at 38,980, up 250 points, or 0.64 per cent, with TATA Steel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS and State Bank of India being among the top gainers. Nifty broke past the crucial 11,700 mark to trade 80 points, or 0.69 per cent, higher at 11,722.

Most of the sectoral indices on Nifty were trading in green, with Nifty Metal the top gainer at 1.63 per cent higher while Nifty Bank too was up over 1 per cent.

In broader markets, S&P BSE MidCap had slid 0.42 per cent, or 63 points, to trade at 15,067 while S&P BSE SmallCap was down 20 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 14,818.

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Sensex cracks another 341 pts on Friday as banks, IT drag; YES Bank falls 9%


The benchmark indices settled around 1 per cent lower on Friday, led by a fall in the banking, information technology (IT) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks amid weakness in the Asian markets, which fell to a 20-month low.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,349, down 341 points, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,030, down 95 points.

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index fell 1.9 per cent due to a fall in the shares of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies. The Nifty Bank index, too, declined 1.6 per cent weighed by YES Bank which fell 8.7 per cent after the private lender posted a fall of 3.8 per cent in net profit for the September quarter. The Nifty FMCG index settled 1.4 per cent lower dragged by ITC, which fell even as the company reported 11.92 per cent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 29.55 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

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Infy ends 2% higher on Friday ahead of Q1 results; Sensex ends flat


The benchmark indices pared their day’s gains to end flat on Friday.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,542, down 7 points. The index had hit a fresh all-time high of 36,740.07 in intra-day deals earlier today tracking global markets ahead of information technology (IT) heavyweight Infosys June quarter earnings later in the day. The broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,019, down 4 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index fell over 2% weighed by a decline in Canara Bank and Indian Bank.

Shares of smallcap companies were under pressure with the S&P BSE Smallcap index falling more than 1% after a sharp decline in stock prices of PVR, KNR Constructions, Inox Leisure and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC).

Idea Cellular share price fell 2.7 per cent intraday on Friday after global research firm Credit Suisse maintained its Underperform rating on the stock with a target price at Rs 45, implying a 17 per cent downside. After the merger between the company and Vodafone, the new entity may prioritise cost savings over market share retention and the cost base should be close to current Bharti mobile cost base, the research house said.

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Sensex ends below 35,000; metal, pharma stocks drag


Benchmark indices dropped on Friday tracking global markets, while metal and pharma stocks pulled down the indices ahead of elections in the key state of Karnataka.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,915, down 188 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,618, down 61 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index was trading over 1% lower led by a fall in shares of Hindustan Zinc and Hindalco. The Nifty IT index, too, was down led by a fall in shares of Mindtree and Wipro. Among the FMCG counters, ITC, Emami, GSK Consumer slipped over 2% on the NSE.

Pharma stocks pushed both indices lower, with the Nifty Pharma index falling over 1.5%.

Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), ITC, Reliance Industries (RIL), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (MMFS) and JSW Steel are the six stocks that Morgan Stanley is betting on in India to play its ‘growth at reasonable price’ (GARP) investment strategy.

An Indian jeweller that saw its market worth reach $3.6 billion at the start of the year is now floundering at about a quarter of that value after one of its founders gifted some shares to family members, raising concern about the company’s governance. PC Jeweller Ltd. slumped by about half after the company said last week that one of its founders P.C. Gupta made the gifts through off-market transactions. The stock has plunged 75 per cent from a record on January 19, taking its market capitalization to Rs 58.3 billion ($873 million). It climbed 21 per cent to Rs 146.85 as of 12.31 p.m. in Mumbai on Friday.

Realty firm Godrej Properties on Friday reported over two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1.41 billion for the January-March quarter of last financial year on higher sales. Its net profit stood at Rs 625.9 million in the year-ago period, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

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Sensex gains 209 pts, Nifty ends above 10,500 on last day of 2017


Equity benchmarks ended the last day of the year on a strong note as the Sensex was up 208.80 points at 34,056.83 and the Nifty rallied 52.80 points to 10,530.70. For the year, both the indices added nearly 28%.

About 1,566 shares advanced against 1,204 declining shares on the BSE.

Shares of Infibeam Incorporation turned volatile trading 12% lower at Rs 144.80 on Friday at 02:12 PM; on back of heavy volumes. The stock of internet software & services recovered 47% from its early morning low of Rs 98.80 on the BSE. It was closed at Rs 165 on Thursday.

Shares of Jaiprakash Associates (JP) Group stocks Jaiprakash Associates, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Jaypee Infratech rallied by upto 20% in intra-day trade on the BSE, extending their gains for the past three days on back of positive media reports.

Jaiprakash Power Ventures has surged 20% to Rs 9.52, also its 52-week high on the BSE in intra-day trade today on back of heavy volumes. The stock rallied 37% in past four trading sessions after the media report suggested that lenders scout for new owner for JP Group arm Prayagraj Power.

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Nifty ends above 10,300, up 2% for week, Sensex gains 216 pts; metals shine


Benchmark indices gained ground on Friday as investors cheer after the exit polls that released their survey results at the end of the final phase of polling in Gujarat on Thursday evening predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to retain Gujarat and wrest Himachal Pradesh from the Congress.

While survey agencies differed in their seat projections, nearly all predicted almost 100 or more seats for the BJP, with the party set to extend its 22-year rule in the state. Survey agencies also said the election, in the last phases, was focused on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and overcame the brewing anti-incumbency against the Vijay Rupani government and dissipated the anger that sections of Gujarati society had felt about specific local issues.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,462, up 216 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,333, up 81 points

Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices with both BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices up over 1%.

Maruti Suzuki India shares touched a fresh all-time high of Rs 9,237, rising 1.3 percent intraday after the global brokerage house raised target price sharply. While maintaining a buy call on the stock, Citi has increased its price target to Rs 10,600 (from Rs 9,400 per share earlier), implying 16% upside from Thursday’s closing price.

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Sensex on Friday ends marginally lower, Nifty holds 8,400; TCS top laggard


The benchmark indices on Friday settled marginally lower after market heavyweight Tata Consultancy Services slumped on worries about its future following key management changes.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 27,238, down 9 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at 8,400, down 7 points.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap (down 0.03%) and BSE Smallcap indices (up 0.03%) closed flat.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,493 shares declined and 1,236 shares rose. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.

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Sensex snaps 7-day losing streak on bargain hunting, ends 61 points higher on Friday


The benchmark indices on Friday settled higher thanks to early rollovers to January series and bargain hunting at lower levels after market witnessed seven straight sessions of losses. The S&P BSE Sensex finished at 26,040, up 61 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at 7,985, up 6 points. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, remained negative. On the BSE, 1,309 shares fell and 1,249 shares rose. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

BSE Capital Goods and BSE Consumer durables were the top sectoral gainers and added nearly 1%.

Cipla was the top Sensex gainer and surged 4%, bouncing back 6.5% from intra-day low, after the pharmaceutical company said its flagship product Sereflo received final approval from UK health regulator.

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