Sensex, Nifty end flat post volatile trade; ITC up 2%; Maruti, RIL dip 1%

Equity markets remained listless on Friday, swinging occasionally between gains and losses, as lack of domestic and global cues kept investors on the sideline. The S&P BSE Sensex settled today’s session 37 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 58,803. The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, shut shop at 17,539, down 3 points or 0.02 per cent.

The broader markets, however, exhibited a strong show during the end but ended mixed. The BSE MidCap index dipped 0.35 per cent while the BSE SmallCap index eked out gains of 0.04 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty Financial Services and FMCG indices added 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, while the Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.77 per cent.

Shares of Adani Enterprises hit a record high of Rs 3,369 after they gained 4 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Friday’s intra-day trade. The spurt comes after the NSE announced the company’s inclusion in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.

Shares of New Delhi Television (NDTV) continued their northward movement as they crossed Rs 500 mark for the first time since January 2008. The stock hit a new high of Rs 515.10, up 5 per cent on Friday in an otherwise subdued market. It surpassed its previous high of Rs 512 which it had touched on January 4, 2008.

ITC, the biggest cigarette maker, and the second largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in India regained the market capitalisation (market cap) of Rs 4 trillion on Friday as rally in the stock continued on the bourses. Shares of ITC hit an over five-year high of Rs 323.40 as they gained 2 per cent on BSE in the intra-day trade. ITC’s market cap had last touched the Rs 4-trillion feat on July 14, 2017, when it was Rs 4.10 trillion on a closing level basis.

Larsen & Toubro shares gained 2% and hit over a six-month high on a strong revenue outlook. In the past month, L&T has outperformed the market by gaining 9 per cent as compared to a 1.4 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Dhanvarsha makes an unsolicited offer of Rs 300 cr to buy Dhanlaxmi Bank. The Dhanvarsha group, a Delhi-based diversified business house, has made an unsolicited offer to buy out the old-generation private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank.

NTPC gained 4% as bids lined up for minority stake sale in Green Energy arm. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 166.30 that it had touched on April 19, 2022. At 09:42 am, it traded 2 per cent higher at Rs 163.55, as compared to an unchanged S&P BSE Sensex at 58,768 points. In the past six months, NTPC has outperformed the market by gaining 25 per cent, against 6 per cent rise in the benchmark index. The stock has surged 41 per cent in a year, as compared to 1.4 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Here are some picks from the week gone by.