MARKET WRAP: Indices end flat, Sensex slips 66 pts; Bharti Airtel falls 8%

All that happened in the markets today

The Indian stock market ended Wednesday's volatile session on a flat note ahead of the monthly derivative contracts expiry due tomorrow.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 66 points, or 0.17 per cent lower at 37,668 levels. The index had hit an intra-day high and low of 38,140 and 37,313.09, respectively. The broader Nifty50 index, meanwhile, settled above 11,100 levels at 11,132, down 22 points, or 0.2 per cent. 

Bharti Airtel tumbled nearly 8 per cent and was the top Sensex loser, followed by Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank (both down over 3 per cent). On the other hand, Axis Bank (up nearly 2 per cent) ended as the top gainer on the index. Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) settled around 1 per cent higher at Rs 2,229.5 on the BSE after the company announced that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,500 crore in Reliance Retail for 1.28 per cent equity share. READ MORE

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 0.33 per cent to 14,238 levels and the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled 0.07 per cent lower at 14,500 levels.   

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty Media declined the most - down 2.47 per cent to 1,481.50 levels. Nifty Pharma slipped 1.6 per cent to 11,686 levels and Nifty PSU Bank index dipped 1.5 per cent to 1,290 levels. On the other hand, Nifty Realty gained 0.79 per cent to 212 levels. 

Global markets

World shares stabilised and the dollar rose on Wednesday after US stocks gained in overnight trade led by tech shares. The rally in US shares helped balance concerns that new restrictions to counter resurging coronavirus infections will hurt economic recovery.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent for its first gain this week, but the mood was hardly bullish. Japan's Nikkei returned from a two-day holiday to slip 0.1 per cent.

European stocks, too, gained in trade following a jump in Adidas post an upbeat forecast from US rival Nike and better-than-expected euro zone manufacturing data. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.3 per cent, with Germany's DAX, London's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 gaining between 1.6 per cent and 2 per cent. 

In commodities, oil edged lower trading below $42 a barrel, pressured by a report that US crude inventories unexpectedly rose and as growing numbers of coronavirus cases around the world raised concern of stalling demand. 

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:14 PM

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

"Indian benchmark indices traded in a tight range before finally ending the day with a negative bias. The uncertainty and lack of direction were clear in the market trend, which was actually supported by gains in RIL and HDFC Bank. The banking index ended the day slightly positive. Global cues were mostly positive. But the re-emergence of virus infections around the world has put doubts on the global economic recovery, and the positivity in the global markets was led by technology shares. Tomorrow being an expiry day and with uncertainty ruling the markets, traders are advised to be cautious."

3:43 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Nifty Pharma index slips 1.6%

3:42 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Losers and gainers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 66 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 37,668 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,132, down 22 points, or 0.2 per cent.

3:29 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:22 PM

HUL trades over 1% higher

3:17 PM

MARKET CHECK | Top gainers on the BSE at this hour

3:07 PM

Factbox: Reliance raises $22.43 bn from stake sales at retail, digital arms

On Wednesday the company announced a $755.1 million investment from KKR & Co Inc in its retail arm, giving it a pre-money valuation of 4.21 trillion rupees ($57.28 billion) READ MORE

Photo: Reuters

3:00 PM

Private equity inflow in real estate down 85% to $866 mn in Jan-Aug: Report

Private equity investment in Indian real estate plunged 85 per cent during January-August period of this year at USD 866 million (around Rs 6,500 crore) as investors remained cautious due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Colliers International and FICCI report. The private equity (PE) inflow stood at USD 5,795 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. READ MORE

2:55 PM

Sectoral trends at this hour

2:47 PM

Strong rural demand cushions volume weakness for Supreme Industries

The stock of India’s largest plastic pipes company Supreme Industries is up 17 per cent since the lows in August on hopes that demand from the rural segment, higher realisations and market share gains will support its revenue growth.

 

Weak volume growth due to falling demand from construction and plumbing segments had dented the financial performance of pipe companies in the June quarter; Supreme Industries reported a 27 per cent dip in revenues on the back of a 19 per cent drop in volumes. READ MORE

2:37 PM

Rollover Analysis :: ICICI Securities

>> The Nifty weakened further and closed at the lowest levels of the month. The prevailing positive bias in the technology space helped it to remain largely range bound whereas most stocks came under selling pressure. The Call writing continued at OTM 11,300 and 11,500 strikes suggesting expectations of limited upsides in the current settlement. At the same time, the Put base at the 11,000 strike is likely to remain a strong support in the current series.

>> The banking index has also remained under pressure and tested its highest Put base of 21000 strike, which has been a strong support since June. However, continued Call writing was observed at 21500 strike, which is likely to remain a hurdle for the settlement. Short covering should be expected above these levels

>> Highest rollover was seen in Adani Enterprises, Havells, Jindal Steel, IDFC First Bank and Balkrishna Industries. Rollover activity was relatively low in Idea, Vedanta, SAIL, Pidilite and United Breweries

>> Among index stocks, Grasim (82%), HCL Tech (75%) and Cipla (74%) are witnessing high rolls into the next series while Hindustan Unilever (30%), TCS (37%) and Asian Paints (40%) are seeing relatively low rollover into the October series.

(Data as of Tuesday, Sept 22)
 

2:27 PM

BSE Midcap index slips 0.9%

2:18 PM

IPO ALERT :: Chemcon Speciality subscribed nearly 47x, CAMS 20x till 2 pm on last day

2:09 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee settles at 73.57 per US dollar vs Tuesday's close of 73.58/$