MARKET WRAP: Benchmarks flat, mid-caps rally; RIL up 3% ahead of Q3 nos

All that happened in the markets today

After bouts of volatility in the last two trading sessions, markets took a breather on Friday and traded flat for better part of the day. While financial and banking counters traded in the sea of red throughout the day, index heavyweights like Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel, that surged 3 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively in the intra-day trade today, provided the necessary support. 

In the intra-day trade, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 42063.93. At close, the 30-share index was at 41,945.37 level, up 12.81 points or 0.031 per cent. Bharti Airtel, that gained over 6 per cent today, was the top gainer at close. The stock hit an over 2-year high of Rs 503.60 on the BSE amid expectations that the telecom company is poised for strong market share gain if payment due to AGR makes Vodafone Idea exit the industry. On the downside, IndusInd Bank was the top loser, down 2 per cent, due to its high exposure towards telecom companies. 

On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled 3.15 points, or 0.025 per cent, lower at 12,352.35-mark. Nifty Bank, financial services, metals and IT indices settled the day in the negative territory. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma gained nearly 2 per cent.

For the week, the Sensex has advanced 0.9 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 has gained 0.8 per cent. Nifty mid-cap index, meanwhile, has risen 4 per cent during the week. 

The party in the broader markets continued for the ninth straight session. The S&P BSE mid-cap index was up 0.5 per cent at 15,703 level. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE small-cap index ended at 14,708.70 level, up 0.42 per cent.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares rose on Friday after Q4 GDP data in China, for calendar year 2019, showed pressure on the world’s second biggest economy may be starting to diminish. The news along with easing trade tensions with the United States underpinned riskier assets, even as some markets took a breather in late afternoon trade.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.18 per cent in afternoon trade, while China’s blue-chip index ended 0.14 per cent higher.

Australian shares added 0.32 per cent to a fifth consecutive record high close, and Seoul’s KOSPI rose 0.11 per cent. 

In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.4 per cent, German DAX futures gained 0.54 per cent and FTSE futures added 0.28 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:55 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

As anticipated Mid & Small caps are outpacing the broader market due to fall in economic risk and revival in business growth, this catch-up, which will be the theme of the year. Main indices are impacted by SC verdict on AGR, having an effect on Telecom & Banking sectors which are already facing NPA problem. The pre-budget rally has been very solid on a MoM basis, market may consolidate in the short-term and take cues from the actual budget and on-going results.

3:41 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Losers and gainers on the NSE

3:40 PM

Top gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 41,945, up 13 points or 0.03 per cent while NSE's Nifty slipped 3 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 12,352. 

3:20 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR | ICICI Securities on KEC International

The overall performance has been satisfactory across H1FY20 barring order inflows, which was a result of a weak domestic market. It is quite evident that previous order inflows guidance will be pruned down but the same would comfortably ensure 13.7% revenue CAGR in FY19-21E. This will be one of the best performances in our midcap capital goods universe. Also, gains in railways business margins are not factored by us. We continue to value the stock at 11.5x FY21E EPS and maintain our BUY rating (target price of Rs 335) as risk reward is favourable at this juncture.

3:11 PM

BUZZING STOCK | Godfrey Phillips surges 4%

3:09 PM

MARKET CHECK

2:58 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR | HDFC Securities on Galaxy Surfactants

We reiterate our BUY rating on the stock with a TP of Rs 1,872 (22x Dec-21E) given diversified portfolio that continues to attract and retain customers, presence in widespread geographies that diversifies business risk, stability of margins (standard deviation of EBITDA margins over FY10-19 at 2.0), and ability to generate nearly 20% RoCE.

2:46 PM

MF industry seeks LTCG easing in commodity, gold ETFs, scrapping of STT

Except for a few proposals like the one on gold and commodity ETFs, most of the changes sought by the industry have been represented in the past.

 

"We are hoping this time our long-pending submissions get addressed, which would help to take the Indian MF industry, not only to the next level of growth, but also help in contributing to making economy stronger," said N S Venkatesh, chief executive of Amfi. READ MORE

2:38 PM

Piramal Enterprises surges 7%, hits 52-week high on divestment of DRG biz

Shares of Piramal Enterprises (PEL) rallied 7 per cent to hit 52-week high of Rs 1,656 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the company announced divestment of its Decision Resource Group (DRG) business for $950 million. “PEL DRG Dutch HoldCo BV, a 100 per cent subsidiary of PEL and the holding company for Decision Resources Group (DRG) engaged in healthcare insights & analytics business, has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of DRG to Clarivate Analytics plc, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, for a sale consideration of US $950 million,” the company said in a press release. READ MORE

2:30 PM

Asian Markets check

Asian shares rose on Friday after data in China showed pressure on the world’s second biggest economy may be starting to diminish. The news along with easing trade tensions with the United States underpinned riskier assets, even as some markets took a breather in late afternoon trade.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.18 per cent in afternoon trade, trimming earlier gains of as much as 0.4 per cent. China’s blue-chip index ended 0.14 per cent higher, down from an earlier rise of as much as 0.67 oer cent.

 

Australian shares added 0.32 per cent to a fifth consecutive record high close, and Seoul’s KOSPI rose 0.11 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.45 per cent after reaching 15-month highs earlier in the session.

 

MSCI’s global share index touched record highs and was last up 0.05 per cent. In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.4 per cent, German DAX futures gained 0.54 per cent and FTSE futures added 0.28 per cent.

(via Reuters)

2:19 PM

Jubilant FoodWorks may still be a tasty bite for investors as stock gains

The stock of Westlife Development (Westlife), which runs the McDonald’s chain in the southern and western parts of the country, has always enjoyed premium valuation over its only listed peer — Jubilant FoodWorks (Jubilant). However, despite a higher base, the latter’s robust growth potential is likely to provide impetus to its valuation. READ MORE

2:08 PM

BSE500 stocks that hit 52-week high today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)
ADANI ENTERP.	226.40	227.95	6.45	2.93
APOLLO HOSPITALS	1611.20	1616.75	18.70	1.17
AU SMALL FINANCE	869.00	888.00	-8.60	-0.98
AVANTI FEEDS	724.40	769.90	-21.50	-2.88
BALKRISHNA INDS	1113.60	1117.35	11.35	1.03

1:58 PM

Rupee check

1:56 PM

Dishman Carbogen falls 9% from day's high despite nod for share buyback

Shares of Dishman Carbogen Amcis were locked in 5 per cent lower circuit at Rs 84.30 on the BSE on Friday despite board approval's for a share buyback at a price not exceeding Rs 150 per share. The stock of pharmaceuticals slipped 9 per cent from its intra-day high level of Rs 92.40 on the BSE. “The board approved the buy-back of equity shares by the Company from open market through stock exchange mechanism for amount not exceeding Rs 72 crore at a price not exceeding Rs 150 per share,” Dishman Carbogen Amcis said in an exchange filing. READ MORE