MARKET WRAP: Sensex ends 139 pts higher in volatile trade; ONGC gains 5.7%

All that happened in the markets today

The domestic equity market ended Friday's volatile session on a positive note amid healthy buying in financial, oil and gas, metal, and FMCG stocks. 

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended at 46,099, up 139 points, or 0.3 per cent while NSE's Nifty ended at 13,514, up 36 points, or 0.26 per cent. 

During the day, Sensex hit a record high of 46,309.63 while Nifty scaled an all-time peak of 13,579.35. 

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 2.2 per cent while Nifty added 1.9 per cent. 

Shares of state-owned oil and gas companies rallied up to 10 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday as crude oil prices extended their northward journey. On Thursday, Brent crude price crossed $50 per barrel-mark for the first time since March on demand recovery and hopes of Covid-19 vaccine.

ONGC ended 5.68 per cent higher at Rs 96.80 on the BSE. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.15 per cent higher at 17,521 points and the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled 0.51 per cent higher at 17,553 points.

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty Metal gained the most - up over 1 per cent to 3,146 levels. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.6 per cent to 12,366 levels. 

  

Global markets

Asian shares rose on Friday as progress on Covid-19 vaccines boosted investor sentiment, but tricky Brexit negotiations and US stimulus talks capped gains in riskier assets.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.13 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.54 per cent.

In commodities, oil rose, adding to sharp gains overnight that saw Brent top $50 for the first time since March, as the rollout of coronavirus vaccination programmes fed hopes that demand for fuel would rebound up next year.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:16 PM

Market Stats

• BSE advance-decline ratio in favour of gainers
• 275 stocks hit 52-week highs while 46 hit 52-week lows
• 445 scrips touched upper circuit limits while 169 hit lower circuits

 

4:07 PM

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

Market opened well, but lost all the gains and turned negative for some time during the day. Fortunately in the last trading minutes, it made a good attempt to bounce back and closed marginally above. Gains made in sectors like energy, FMCG and metals were countered by selling in pharma and IT stocks. This muted momentum was due to a weak global trend. Despite European Central Bank's announcement of an increase in the stimulus package, European markets fell as it was over weighed by increasing chance of a no-deal Brexit, rising virus cases and moderate usages of the announced stimulus plan. Instability was also seen in the US market with a sudden spike in the volatility index (VIX) and selling in tech stocks.

4:05 PM

Broader markets largely outperform benchmark

Broader market indices largely outperformed benchmark Nifty50. The Nifty Smallcap index added 0.63 per cent while the Nifty Midcap index gained 0.22 per cent. The broadest index on NSE, Nifty 500 rose as much as 0.27 per cent.

3:59 PM

COMMENT | S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Markets witnessed a volatile trading session but ended the week well over 46k amid renewed interest in PSU names across sectors on hopes of divestment and dividend expectations from cash-rich PSU companies. Bouts of profit booking was seen in afternoon trade across sectors and stocks which seems healthy for the markets

3:44 PM

Nifty sectoral indices at close

Nifty Pharma emerged as worst sectoral loser, down 0.60 per cent, followed by Nifty IT and Nifty Auto.

3:41 PM

Top Sensex contributors today: ICICI Bank, ITC, NTPC

3:40 PM

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

3:38 PM

CLOSING BELL

The BSE Sensex ended 139.13 points or 0.30 per cent higher at 46,099.01 while NSE Nifty settled at 13,513.85, up 35.55 points or 0.26 per cent. 

3:19 PM

ONGC trades 5.51% higher

3:08 PM

Ircon International, PNC Infratech advance up to 9% on order wins

IRCON International was up 9 per cent at Rs 96.05 after the company said it has been awarded the work of upgradation of Gurgaon- Palaud,-Rewari section of NH-352W (design length of 46.110 km) 35 feeder route in Haryana on Hybrid Annuity Mode valuing Rs 900 crore on competitive bidding basis by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). READ MORE 

3:05 PM

Global market update: Stocks subdued by Brexit, US stimulus doubts

World shares slipped on Friday as tricky Brexit negotiations and uncertainty over US stimulus talks capped riskier bets even though COVID-19 vaccines made progress, pushing sterling down and keeping the dollar weak. European equities fell, with the broad Euro STOXX 600 down 1.1% and indexes in Paris and London losing 1.2% and 1% respectively.U.S. futures gauges fell 0.2%. (Source: Reuters)

2:58 PM

S&P downgrades Sri Lanka's rating on rising external financing risks

With the implementation of expansionary budget measures in Sri Lanka, the country's fiscal position is expected to deteriorate materially over the next few years in the absence of favourable economic and financial conditions, S&P said in a statement. READ MORE

2:44 PM

Fall from intra-day high today

COMPANY	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	DAY'S LOW(RS)	LATEST(RS)	FALL(%)
PC JEWELLER	27.80	24.50	24.90	-10.43
ALLCARGO LOGIST.	155.15	142.10	144.55	-6.83
S C I	89.95	83.15	84.00	-6.61
AEGIS LOGISTICS	266.85	247.35	249.30	-6.58

2:42 PM

Festive demand lifts Nov domestic passenger vehicle sales by 13%: SIAM

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales rose 13.43 per cent to 16,00,379 units, compared with 14,10,939 units in the same month last year.

 

Motorcycle sales were at 10,26,705 units as against 8,93,538 units in November 2019, up 14.9 per cent. Scooter sales were also up by 9.29 per cent at 5,02,561 units, from 4,59,851 units in the same month last year. READ MORE

2:30 PM

Hinduja Global soars 17% to hit a 52-week high; stock gains 25% in 3 days

Shares of Hinduja Global Solutions soared 17 per cent to Rs 1,148 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday after the company’s subsidiary, HGS AxisPoint Health, partnered with Parkland Community Health Plan (PCHP) to provide disease management services to approximately 195,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in a seven-county area in North Texas. READ MORE