Indian equities fell in-line with global stocks after minutes released by the US Federal Reserve suggested tapering of the Fed’s stimulus plan by late 2021. Besides, rampant spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 and faltering global growth worried investors.
The 30-share Sensex index declined 300 points, or 0.4 per cent, and closed at 55,329 levels on Friday while the Nifty50 index ended at 16,451 levels, down 118 points or 0.7 per cent. Both the indices had hit intra-day lows of 55,014 and 16,376, respectively, earlier today.
The broader markets, meanwhile, were hit harder by the selloff as both, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 2 per cent each. The advance to decline ratio favoured sellers and India VIX — the volatility index — surged 8.6 per cent.
Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index cracked 6 per cent while the FMCG index rose 2 per cent.
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Large-cap stocks staged a spectacular rally on Friday, and lifted benchmark indices to fresh all-time highs. Tata Consumer Products (up 4 per cent) emerged as the top gainer, followed by TCS, LT, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Wipro, HDFC, RIL, and ITC.
Overall, the S&P BSE Sensex went past the 55,400-mark for the first time and hit a new milestone of 55,488 in the intra-day trade. Meanwhile, the broader 50-share index on the NSE surpassed the 16,450-mark and rallied ahead to hit an all-time high of 16,543.6.
By close, both the indices were quoting at 55,437 and 16,529 levels, up 593 and 165 points, respectively.
On the contrary, broader indices underperformed and ended mildly lower. The MidCap and SmallCap indices slipped 0.06 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively.
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After a volatile start, benchmark indices swiftly rose in noon deals to end near the day’s high level on Friday. ICICI Bank and ITC (up 3 per cent each), followed by Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, and HCL Tech were the top contributors towards the indices’ rally.
At close, the S&P BSE Sensex quoted at 52,976 levels, up 138.5 points, or 0.26 per cent. The broader Nifty50, meanwhile, settled above the psychological level of 15,850 at 15,856, up 32 points or 0.2 per cent. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices, however, underperformed the benchmarks with the former slipping 0.07 per cent while the latter added 0.11 per cent.
Shares of ITC moved higher by 3 per cent at Rs 213.60 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday, on back of heavy volumes, ahead of its April-June quarter (Q1FY22) earnings on Saturday, July 24. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.39 per cent at 53,041 levels at 02:20 pm. Trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 36 million equity shares having changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.
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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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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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It was a freaky Friday for Dalal Street investors as bears came roaring amid weakness in Asian markets and unabated rise in Covid-19 cases along with hiccups in vaccination drive back home. Profit booking too weighed on markets following four straight sessions of gains that led to a 4 per cent rally in the benchmark indices this week.
The benchmark indices eased 2 per cent today amid massive selling in all but pharma sector. The Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices took the sharpest knock and dropped 3 per cent each while the Nifty FMCG, Auto, IT, and Realty indices slipped up to 1.5 per cent. The Nifty Pharma index bucked the trend and gained settled 1 per cent higher.
In effect, NSE’s 50-share index erased 264 points to close at 14,631 levels dragged mainly by HDFC (down 4.2 per cent), HDFC Bank (4 per cent), ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, M&M, TCS, Tata Motors, and Adani Ports. The losses were, however, capped by gains in ONGC (4 per cent), Coal India, Divi’s Labs, Grasim, and Indian Oil Corporation.
On the BSE, the Sensex index nursed losses in 25 of the 30 constituents and ended at 48,782 levels today, down 983.5 points.
On a weekly basis, both the frontline indices snapped their 3-week losing streak and added around 2 per cent higher each.
SmallCap scrips, meanwhile, remained resilient in the weak market with stocks such as Uttam Sugar, Tata Metaliks,Jay Bharat Maruti, and Confidence Petroleum India rallying between 174 per cent and 16 per cent. At the index level, the S&P BSE SmallCap settled just 0.07 per cent lower.
The MidCap index, on the other hand, slipped 0.65 per cent.
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The benchmark indices witnessed a see-saw trade on Friday as markets failed to breach crucial resistance zones at the higher levels. As per technical charts, if the frontline S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty surpass their psychological levels of 50,000 and 15,000 levels, respectively, then the indices may log a 4-per cent rally in the short-term.
However, with the Covid-19 situation in the country getting grimmer day by day, market participants have stayed on the sidelines. During Friday’s session, the Sensex index dropped 250 points from day’s high of 49,089 to settle 28 points, or 0.06 per cent higher at 48,832.
The NSE’s Nifty50, on the other hand, ended at 14,618 levels, up 36 points or 0.25 per cent. The index had reached an intra-day high of 14,698.
Wipro, which jumped 10 per cent in the intra-day trade and hit a record high of Rs 474 on the NSE, ended as the top gainer (up 9 per cent) on the Nifty after clocking its best performance in the March quarter in a decade. ICICI Securities said that the key highlights of the quarter were healthy deal wins, up 16.7 per cent QoQ, to $1.4 billion, healthy net addition of 7,404 employees, higher offshore up 180 bps to 54.5 per cent. READ MORE
That apart, Hindalco, Asian Paints, Cipla, BPCL, HCL Tech, and UltraTech Cement were the other best performing stocks on the Nifty, up in the range of 2 per cent to 4 per cent. On the downside, Tata Steel, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and JSW Steel slipped up to 2 per cent to end as top drags on the index.
Investor participation in the broader markets, however, remained strong with the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices settling 1.2 per cent and 1.05 per cent higher, respectively.
Sectorally, the Nifty Pharma index ended 2 per cent higher while the Nifty Auto, IT, Metal, and FMCG indices gained between 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, and Realty indices slipped up to 0.6 per cent.
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Snapping their 3-day winning streak, domestic equity markets traded range-bound in the negative territory on Friday, with a few episodes of gains. Amid mixed global cues and record Covid-19 cases back home, coupled with reports of a vaccine supply crunch, the benchmark indices dropped 0.3 per cent today.
Among headline indices, the S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 49,591 level, down 155 points. 50 per cent of the constituents ended the day in the red with Bajaj Finance (down 3 per cent), Ultratech Cement, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Reliance Industries leading the list of losers. On the upside, Sun Pharma, HUL, Tech Mahindra, Titan Company, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and HCL Tech were the top gainers on the index, up in the range of 1 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
On the NSE, the 50-share barometer settled at 14,835 levels, down 39 points dragged down by UPL, Tata Steel, Coal India, and Axis Bank.
Trends in the broader markets were mixed as the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed 0.7 per cent higher while the S&P BSE MidCap index dipped 0.07 per cent.
The SmallCap index hit fresh record peak of 21,667, for second day in a row on the back of gains in Srei Infra, Butterfly Gandhimathi, Kilitch Drugs, Subex, Bank of Maharashtra, Aarti Surfactants, Vimta Labs, and Sasken Technologies.
Sectorally, investors appeared to be defensive with the Nifty Pharma index ending over 3 per cent up. The Nifty IT and FMCG indices, meanwhile, settled 0.8 per cent higher each.
On the downside, the Nifty Bank, Private Bank, and Auto indices slipped up to 1 per cent.
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A steep hike in US treasury yields took the global markets by surprise on Friday as investors dumped equities for bonds. That apart, an air strike by the United States in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border, further dented trading sentiment.
US Treasury yields vaulted to their highest levels, of about 1.5 per cent, since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic on expectations of a strong economic expansion and related inflation. Back home, the 10-year goverment bond firmed up to 6.23 per cent on Friday mirrowing similar trends. Effectively, fear of reversal in rate cut cycle, spooked investors who off-loaded equities worth Rs 5 trillion.
Additionally, the US air strike in retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month, and caution ahead of the release of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the December quarter made investors sit on the fence.
In the intra-day trade, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 2,149 points while the Nifty50 index slumped 629 points. The indices ended near the lowest point of the day, at 49,100 and 14,529 levels, respectively, down 1,939 points and 568 points.
All the 30 constituents on the Sensex index and 50 stocks on the Nifty ended the day in the red. ONGC, JSW Steel, GAIL, M&M, Bajaj Finance, Grasim, and Hero MotoCorp were the top Nifty losers, down up to 8 per cent; Axis Bank, HDFC, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank were the top drags on the Sensex.
In the broader markets, small-cap stocks held their ground relatively better as the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled only 0.7 per cent down. The S&P BSE MidCap index, on the the hand, ended 1.75 per cent lower.
On the sectoral front, banking counters got butchered as yield concerns soured sentiment in the sector. Expectations that banks may have to show yield-induced fall in G-sec value as losses, investors pushed the sell button for banks. The Nifty Bank, and Private bank indices closed 5 per cent down, followed by losses in the Nifty PSU Bank index, down 4.5 per cent.
The Nifty Metal and Auto indices dropped 3 per cent while the Nifty FMCG, IT, and Pharma indices slipped 2 per cent each.
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The benchmark indices ended over 1.5 per cent higher on Thursday amid across-the-board buying.
Among headline indices, the S&P BSE Sensex ended 629 points, or 1.65 per cent higher at 38,697 levels while the Nifty50 index topped the 11,400-mark to settle at 11,417, up 1.5 per cent. The volatility index, India VIX, slipped nearly 6.5 per cent to 18.27 levels.
IndusInd Bank (up over 12 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (up over 5 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers, followed by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tech Mahindra (all up 4 per cent).
On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 3.4 per cent while Nifty added 3.3 per cent. The markets will remain closed on Friday (October 2) on account of Gandhi Jayanti.
The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was positive, led by Nifty Private Bank index, up over 4 per cent. The Nifty Bank index rallied 3.7 per cent to 22,246 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.73 per cent higher at 14,813 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,970, up 0.69 per cent.
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