Sensex slips 85 points as private banks drag, Yes Bank falls 3.5%
The benchmark indices settled marginally lower on Friday weighed by financials and consumer stocks amid caution in global markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,252, down 85 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,557, down 26 points.
Among key stocks, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top losers on the BSE, falling 3.5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the Nifty Bank index settled 0.7 per cent lower weighed by Yes Bank, Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank.
Shares of selected pharmaceutical companies were in focus with Amrutanjan Health Care, Pfizer, Merck and Novartis India rallying up to 18% on the BSE in otherwise subdued market. All these stocks were trading at their respective all-time highs.
Analysts remain bullish on Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and have maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock despite the company’s buyback proposal. The company, at its meeting on Thursday, approved a proposal to buy back up to 60 million equity shares at a maximum price of Rs 1,500 per equity share for an amount of Rs 90 billion.
The board of confectionary major Britannia Industries on Thursday approved share split in 1:2 ratio to make the stock more affordable for the small retail investors and increase liquidity. The Kolkata-based company will split the shares with a face value of Rs 2 into two equity shares of Re 1 each.
Shares of HDFC Asset Management Company have rallied 4.6% to Rs 1,916 per share, extending their 7% gain in the past three days on the BSE, after the company reported 25% growth in its net profit at Rs 2.05 billion in June quarter (Q1FY19). Revenue from operations grew by 21% to Rs 4.71 billion during the quarter against Rs 3.90 billion in the corresponding quarter of previous year.
Shares of SpiceJet continued to remain under pressure, hitting a 17-month low of Rs 76, down 4% on the BSE in an otherwise firm market. The stock of the budget carrier was trading at its lowest level since March 9, 2017. It has fallen 31% in past one month, as compared to 4% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Shares of Hexaware Technologies dipped 19% to Rs 401 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade after a more than 10% of equity of information technology firm changed hands on the counter via block deals. The stock has slipped 17% at Rs 415 on the BSE in intra-day trade so far.
Reliance Industries (RIL) on Thursday became the first Indian company to cross Rs 8 trillion in market capitalisation. The stock gained 1.9 per cent to close at Rs 1,270, valuing the Mukesh Ambani-led firm at Rs 8.05 trillion ($115 billion at current exchange rate of Rs 70.11 for a dollar). Shares of RIL have rallied 34 per cent from their recent low of Rs 945 on June 28 amid big-bang announcements during its annual general meeting (AGM) in early July. During the same period, the benchmark BSE Sensex gained 9.5 per cent.
Shares of Axis Bank rose around 2 percent on buzz of a management change at the bank. According to a report in The Economic Times, Amitabh Chaudhry of HDFC Life is likely to be the successor to Shikha Sharma, Axis’s current CEO and MD. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 641.80 and an intraday low of Rs 635.00. The report further quoted block deal data from exchanges, which revealed that the executive sold over 11.62 lakh shares between April 26 and August 20, 2018 on the NSE. “Amitabh has appeared for the interview and a final approval from the Reserve Bank is pending,” a source privy to the development told the publication.
Here are some picks from the week gone by.
