MARKETS: Indices end flat; Sensex slips 37 points, Nifty settles at 13,114

All that happened in the markets today

After slipping around 1 per cent during the day, the benchmark indices staged a smart recovery in the last half hour of the session to end flat on Wednesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled 37 points, or 0.08 per cent lower at 44,618 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 13,114, up 4.7 points, or 0.04 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, ended flat at 20.2 levels, up 0.3 per cent. 

Financial counters such as HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among the major contributors to the Sensex's fall today while Asian Paints, TCS, and Titan Company gave the much-needed support. 

The broader market, however, outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.55 per cent to 17,167 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.68 per cent higher at 17,129 points. 

Sectorally, metal, auto and realty stocks rallied. Nifty Metal index gained 2.56 per cent to 3,050 levels. 

Global markets

World stocks hovered near record highs on Wednesday on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and additional US economic stimulus, though enthusiasm for riskier assets left the dollar stuck at a 2-1/2 year low.

In Asia, China stocks erased earlier gains to end nearly flat. 

US stock futures declined 0.23 per cent following a record closing high for Wall Street shares.

In commodities, oil prices fell in early trade but later pared some of the losses on news that Britain has become the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for use and that it will be rolled out from early next week.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:15 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Markets ended almost unchanged in a highly volatile trading session. The benchmark gradually inched lower after the flat start however strong buying in the last hour helped the index to close flat at 13,114 levels. The broader markets outperformed wherein both Midcap and Smallcap ended higher by 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. On the sector front, except Banking and Finance, all the other indices ended with healthy gains wherein Realty, Metal and Oil & Gas were the top gainers.

 

We’re seeing consolidation in the index but the bias is still on the positive side. Going ahead, further updates on Covid vaccines and cues from the global markets will remain in focus. Besides, on the domestic front, RBI’s monetary policy meet would also be on investors' radar. The MPC is likely to maintain the status quo however their commentary on growth and inflation would be critical.

3:43 PM

Nifty Realty ends nearly 3% higher

3:42 PM

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

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 37 points, or 0.08 per cent lower at 44,618 while NSE's Nifty ended at 13,114, up 4.7 points, or 0.04 per cent. 

3:26 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:16 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW | Prabhudas Lilladher on Emami

Rating: BUY | TP: Rs 526 

We are upgrading target price of Emami to Rs 526 (Rs 450 earlier) as we increase PE multiple from 26 to 28x (last 5-year average 38.6x, 25% discount to coverage universe) and rollover valuations to FY23. We believe Emami has hit a sweet spot for growth led by 1) Strong rural demand as it is 55% of sales for Emami 2) strong demand for winter care products on early onset of winter 3) low base for 3Q ( 5 year sales growth of 3.3%, 19.7% and 25.8% decline in 4Q and 1Q) 4) Kesh king has gained traction and is gaining share in premium hair oil segment 5) Strong demand for Immunity boosters like Chawyanprash and Kesari jeevan and 6) benign input costs of LLP and Mentha oil.

3:04 PM

M&M hits 52-week high, Escorts nears record high on strong tractor sales

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Escorts gained 3 per cent on the BSE on Wednesday in an otherwise subdued market as the tractor segment extended the trend of outperformance vis-a-vis rest of the automotive space in November 2020. The stock of M&M hit a 52-week high of Rs 758, surpassing its previous high of Rs 745, touched on November 24, 2020. Escorts hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,419, and was trading close to its record high of Rs 1,446 touched on November 19, 2020. READ MORE

3:02 PM

Sensex off lows

2:57 PM

Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex gainers and losers at this hour

2:53 PM

RBI Policy Expectations :: Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research

Analyzing the current scenario, RBI might rest their decision to continue with the status quo. However, in my opinion, inflation figures might be at a higher level, but still, RBI would not consider this as a time to start reversing the policy of low-interest rates as the GDP growth data for the past 2 quarters has been negative and as of now growth is going to take priority over inflation.

 

Markets are also expecting the RBI to maintain the status quo and have discounted the fact that if RBI keeps the benchmark rates the same, it is going to be a non-event from the market perspective. Although, we might see a higher degree of volatility in rate-sensitive stocks (Banking, NBFCs, Automobile, Real Estate) till the time policy is announced. GDP data, which was released last week showed that the Indian economy contracted for the 2nd consecutive quarter.

Although, the rate of contraction got reduced from 23.90% in Q1 to 7.9% in Q2 which was better than expected and markets have also taken this data positively with Nifty and broader indices trading at record high levels. However, in order to bring the economy back on a positive growth trajectory, RBI is expected to continue with the low rate regime for some more time before it decides to reverse its stance.

2:47 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Bharti Infratel recovers 9% from day's low

2:37 PM

Hero MotoCorp gains 2% in subdued market on strong November sales

Continuing to ride over the challenging market conditions caused by Covid-19, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, reported a robust double-digit growth of 14.4 per cent over the corresponding month of the previous year (November 2019), when the company had sold 516,775 units. READ MORE 

2:24 PM

Top picks by Angel Broking

2:17 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high in an otherwise weak market today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
ADANI ENTERP.	447.40	451.25	6.06
ADANI PORTS	435.75	437.85	2.83
ADANI TRANSMISSI	417.70	418.80	10.31
AFFLE INDIA	3730.00	3770.80	3.86
AIA ENGINEERING	1992.80	2025.55	5.73

2:09 PM

NEWS ALERT | L&T signs agreement to Divest UK unit, Servowatch Systems, to Rolls-Royce