Sensex ends 214 pts higher amid broad-based buying; Asian Paints gains 4%

All that happened in the markets today

The Indian markets ended over half a per cent higher on Friday, lifted by financial stocks, while volatility index, India VIX, dipped 4 per cent to below 20 levels.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 214 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 38,435 levels, and the Nifty50 index ended above the 11,350-mark at 11,372, up 59 points or 0.53 per cent. NTPC (up over 4.5 per cent), Asian Paints (up over 4 per cent) and Power Grid (up over 4 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers. Asian Paints hit a record high of Rs 1,971 during the day. The stock settled at Rs 1,958.35 on the BSE. 

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.47 per cent while Nifty added 1.72 per cent. 

On the flip side, ONGC (down over 1 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 1 per cent), and Tata Steel (down nearly 1 per cent) were the biggest losers on the index.

Among other individual stocks, GMM Pfaudler surged over 8 per cent in early deals after it said it has acquired a 54 per cent stake in its parent firm Pfaudler Group for a consideration of around $27.4 million.

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was positive, led by Nifty PSU Bank index, up 1.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the broader markets kept up their outperformance. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,954, up 0.57 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,625.19, up nearly 1.5 per cent.

Global markets

China stocks ended higher on Friday and posted a weekly rise, as investors cheered a series of solid corporate earnings, though uncertainty over Sino-US trade talks kept a check on gains. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.9 per cent, to 4,718.84, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 per cent to 3,380.68.

In Europe, shares edged higher after data showed Germany’s manufacturing sector rebounded further in August, but gains were capped as overall recovery in euro zone business activity stalled.

Oil prices edged lower but held near a five-month high as an easing of coronavirus lockdowns aids a slow recovery in fuel demand while major crude producers seek to limit supply.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:54 PM

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

Indian indices had a strong opening and inspite of volatility held onto some of the gains, supported by positive global cues. The broader market indices performed better than the benchmarks. Overnight gains in US Tech shares, in spite of underwhelming economic data in the US, helped global markets. Domestically, more hopes arose regarding normalisation of businesses and affected sectors, as the government continued with the “unlock” process.

 

Markets were up by almost 1.5% on a weekly basis. Expectations and remarks from Central Banks, especially from the US Fed, drove global markets this week.

 

WEEK AHEAD

 

Indian markets are showing strong correlation with the global markets. The markets, globally, are currently running on hope and liquidity. The expectation of economic activity picking up and earning normalising will have to translate into reality or at least show signs of it, for the markets to sustain the current momentum. Until then investors are advised to remain cautious while trading and remain stock specific.

 

3:45 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: Sanjeev Zarbade, VP PCG Research, Kotak Securities

The BSE-30 Index gained 1.6 per cent in the current week. Market mood remained volatile over the past week as participants grappled with the pace of economic recovery. NTPC, Tata Steel and ONGC  were among the top gainers while State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank were major losers in the BSE-30 Index.

Action has shifted to mid and small cap indices. Metals and Power stocks have done well in this week. On the economy front, trade deficit for July was at US$4.8 bn against a surplus of US$0.8 bn in June; July exports fell by 10.2 per cent YoY while imports fell by 28.4 per cent YoY. FPIs bought equities worth US$1.9 bn over the past five trading sessions while DIIs sold US$368 mn worth of equities in the same period.

3:43 PM

PSBs gain; All the 12 constituents of the PSU Bank index end in the green

3:42 PM

Metal index ends as top loser on NSE; 10 out of 15 constituents end in the red

3:40 PM

BSE Snapshot at Close

3:39 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at Close

3:37 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:35 PM

Closing Bell | Indices end off day's high

>> The S&P BSE Sensex ends at 38,435, up 214 points or 0.56 per cent. The index hit intra-day high of 38,579.83

>> NSE's Nifty ends at 11,377, up 65 points or 0.57 per cent. The index's intra-day high was 11,418.5

3:31 PM

AGR Case :: Hearing adjourned to Aug 24

3:30 PM

Oil check :: Motilal Oswal Financial Services

3:27 PM

Asian Markets Wrap :: Motilal Oswal Financial Services

3:24 PM

US Court reduces $280 mn punitive damages in TCS-Epic Systems case

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3:20 PM

NEWS ALERT:: EU official says latest round of Brexit talks bring no breakthrough, reports Reuters

3:16 PM

SECTOR CHECK :: Metals, ITs reverse gains

3:09 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Indices cooling off a bit