Sensex zooms 910 points as financials defy Adani rout; Nifty ends above 17,850

Bulls roared on Dalal Street Friday as benchmark indices ended with strong gains led by financial stocks. The BSE Sensex zoomed 910 points to end at 60,842, while the Nifty50 index climbed to 17,854 level with a gain of 254 points as select Adani group stocks saw an impressive pullback from days of relentless selling.

On the Nifty, Adani Ports closed in green after two days with a firm gain of 6 per cent., while Adani Enterprises erased over 50 per cent of its day’s losses to close 2 per cent down. Titan, Bajaj twins, HDFC twins, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors, M&M, Airtel and SBI Life were the other frontline winners, which ended 3-7 per cent higher.

IT majors Tech M, Wipro, HCL Tech were the only losers on the Sensex, while Divi’s Lab, BPCL, Tata Consumer, HDFC Life and Hindalco ended in red on Nifty.

The frontline gains did not seep into the broader markets with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ending up to 0.5 per cent lower.

Within sectors, the PSB index on the NSE soared 3 per cent led by the strong Q3 result of Bank of Baroda. Nifty Bank also gained 2 per cent, while pharma, oil & gas and realty indices closed up to 1 per cent lower.

Shares of Divis Laboratories tanked 13 per cent to hit a 29-month low of Rs 2,830 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade as the company posted weak results for the December quarter (Q3FY23) disappointing investors.

Nasdaq-listed Cognizant on Friday reported its fourth quarter FY22 net profit at $521 million, down 9.5 per cent year-on-year. Revenue for the quarter increased 1.3 per cent at $4.8 billion in reported terms and it was up 4 per cent in constant currency.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 1 per cent to hit an over seven-month high of Rs 3,498 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade as investors turn to defensive stocks in a volatile market.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday shifted Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Ambuja Cements to a category of stocks that require up to 100 per cent trading margins.

TVS Motor informed the exchanges, on Thursday, that it has invested $9.5 million in Ion Mobility to further push it’s electrification agenda.

Addressing investors’ concerns regarding the latest Budget proposals, SBI Life has said that the Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) product mix is well diversified at 56.4 per cent unit linked, 27.4 per cent non-unit linked, 10.1 per cent protection, 2.8 per cent annuity, and 3.3 per cent group funds.

Here are some picks from the week gone by.