Sensex ends 99 pts up on buying in RIL, IT stks; Nifty closes above 10,800

All that happened in the markets today

The Indian markets on Monday climbed off the day's high but still ended in the positive territory, thanks to buying in Reliance Industries (RIL), IT and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,694, up 99 points, or 0.27 per cent having reclaimed the 37,000 levels earlier in the session. The broader Nifty50 index, meanwhile, ended above the crucial 10,800 mark at 10,815, up 47 points or 0.44 per cent. RIL rose over 3 per cent during the day and hit a lifetime high of Rs 1,947 on the BSE after it announced the sale of 0.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms to Qualcomm Ventures for Rs 730 crore. The stock ended at Rs 1,934, up 3 per cent. READ MORE
 

Besides, IT stocks such as Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and Infosys were among the top gainers on the BSE. On the other hand, financial counters such as Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, and HDFC ended as the biggest losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended flat at 13,403.74, up 0.05 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed the day at 12,784, down 0.15 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) hit an over 10-week high of Rs 2,274 on the BSE during the day after the company announced that its board will meet on July 21 to consider special interim dividend. The stock ended at Rs 2,264.70, up 1.84 per cent. READ MORE

Shares of HDFC Bank ended over 2 per cent lower at Rs 1,080 on the BSE after a Bloomberg report alleged that the bank was probing allegations of improper lending practices and conflicts of interests in its vehicle-financing operation.

Avenue Supermarts tumbled up to 6 per cent to Rs 2,182 on the BSE after the firm's consolidated net profit for the June quarter declined 87.61 per cent to Rs 40 crore compared to a profit of Rs 323 crore in the same quarter last year. The stock ended at Rs 2,232, down over 3.8 per cent. READ MORE
 

Global markets

World shares were approaching a five-month peak and the dollar slipped on Monday as investors wagered the earnings season would see most companies beat forecasts given expectations had been lowered by coronavirus lockdowns. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.8 per cent as Chinese stocks jumped 2.1% on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei gained 2.2 per cent and South Korea 1.7 per cent.

The optimism carried over to Europe, where stocks rose 1 per cent, even as the US on Friday slapped additional duties of 25 per cent on French luxury goods valued at $1.3 billion, in a tit-for-tat response to France’s digital services tax.

In commodities, oil prices dropped on big spikes in Covid-19 infections over the weekend in the United States and elsewhere while traders await an OPEC technical meeting expected to recommend an easing of supply cuts.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:02 PM

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

"In a volatile day of trade, the market gave up almost all of its early gains, before closing out the day with a positive bias. Financials ended negative while IT and FMCG led the sectoral gains. Markets are hoping for further stimulus measures from the RBI, following expectations of a softening of inflation rates, which would give RBI room for further rate cuts. Investors are advised to be cautious and to look at stock-specific movements with regards to earnings announcements and the commentary."

3:45 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Here's how sectoral indices on the NSE fared today

3:44 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE:: Gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 99 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 36,694 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 10,815, up 47 points or 0.44 per cent.

3:24 PM

INDEX GAINER:: Tech Mahindra gains over 5.5%

3:16 PM

MARKET CHECK:: Top 5 gainers on the BSE at this hour

3:06 PM

HUL to consider special interim dividend on July 21; stock hits 10-wk high

“A meeting of the board of directors of the Company will be held on July 21, 2020, through audio-visual to consider the proposal for payment of interim (special) dividend, if any, for the financial year ending March 31, 2021 (FY21),” HUL said in an exchange filing.

 

The board will also consider the financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 (Q1) along with the limited review report of the auditors for the corresponding period, it said. READ MORE

2:58 PM

Wipro Q1 preview: Covid-19 to dent numbers; strategy under the new CEO key

Wipro, the Bengaluru-headquartered information technology (IT) services company, will announce its financial results for the quarter ended June 2020 (Q1FY21) on Tuesday, July 14. It will be the second large-cap IT company to release its earnings after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). That apart, it will be the first quarterly result announcement by the company under its new CEO, Thierry Delaporte, who took charge of the firm earlier this month. READ MORE

2:50 PM

Six Indian drug firms that are doing serious business in coronavirus times

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA's regulator for drug and food safety, has sped up approvals for facilities of Indian drug manufacturers. Analysts say the pandemic has opened the door for Indian companies manufacturing a spectrum of drugs like hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug touted by US President Donald Trump as a potential “game changer” in the fight against the pandemic, and Remdesivir, the investigational antiviral drug. READ MORE

2:41 PM

India GDP to fall 7.5% if Covid-19 vaccine delayed, 4% in base case: Report

A longer wait for a vaccine against Covid-19 virus may lead to a contraction of up to 7.5 per cent in the Indian GDP in FY21, a foreign brokerage said on Monday. Economists at Bank of America Securities also revised down their base case estimates on the real GDP within a week, and now expect it to contract by 4 per cent because of a drop in economic activity. READ MORE

2:31 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Google sets up $1000 cr fund to boost India's digital economy

2:31 PM

HDFC Bank slides 3% on report of improper lending in vehicle finance unit

Shares of HDFC Bank slipped 3 per cent to Rs 1,071.2 on the BSE on Monday after a Bloomberg report alleged that the bank was probing allegations of improper lending practices and conflicts of interests in its vehicle-financing operation. "The result of the investigation isn’t public, but it followed issues thrown up by an internal audit of the bank’s vehicle-dealer lending, as well as allegations of conflicts of interest in the purchase of global positioning systems for vehicles financed by the bank," the report said quoting unnamed sources. READ MORE

2:22 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	LATEST	52 WK HIGH	PREV HIGH
BIOCON	418.20	455.00	420.35
BRITANNIA INDS.	3791.20	3834.70	3752.50
DIXON TECHNOLOG.	6375.00	6487.70	6332.70
DR LAL PATHLABS	1869.90	1918.05	1845.90

2:14 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Broader indices underperform

2:08 PM

Rupee closing

Rupee ends flat at 75.19/$ vs Friday's close of 75.20 against the US dollar