Sensex ends choppy day 111 pts up; Mid-, small-cap indices hit record peaks

Stock market updates: Benchmark indices settled higher on Monday as US stock futures suggested a positive start on Wall Street later today. The Dow Jones Futures were last up around 150 points, or 0.4 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures gained 0.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively. 

Trade in Europe was quiet as markets were closed in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Austria for public holiday. Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40, meanwhile, moved higher by 0.3 per cent each in early trade. As regards Asia, major indices in Japan, China, and Australia gained between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

Amid this global set up, the BSE barometer of 30-shares settled 111 points, or 0.2 per cent, higher at 50,652 levels while the broader Nifty50 index closed at 15,198 levels, up 22 points or 0.15 per cent. Both the indices hit intra-day highs of 50,857 and 15,256, respectively. 

The indices, however, underperformed the broader markets where both the MidCap and SmallCap indices scaled fresh peaks in the intra-day deals and settled around 0.8 per cent higher each. The BSE MidCap index touched a new record high level of 21,717 while the BSE SmallCap index hit 23,338. 

Individually, Indian Oil Corporation, SBI, L&T, BPCL, Axis Bank, UPL, PowerGrid, and ITC were the top performing stocks in the large-cap space while Natco Pharma, Concor, Adani Transmission, Page Industries, Birlasoft Corporation, MEP Infrastructure Developers, and Astec Lifesciences were the gainers in the broader markets.

Of these, shares of State Bank of India gained 4.4 per cent to quote at Rs 418.90 on the BSE in the intra-day trade, having rallied 9 per cent in the past two trading days, after the bank on Friday reported a strong performance on the asset quality front wherein slippages and restructuring were within guidance while sufficient provisioning buffer also provided comfort. The stock of the state-owned lender was trading close to its record high of Rs 426.45 touched on February 18, 2021. READ MORE

Those of Natco Pharma surged 20 per cent to Rs 1,188.95, also its new high, on the BSE in the intra-day trade after the company said it has received approval from the US health regulator for the generic version of Celgene's multiple myeloma drug, Revlimid (Lenalidomide) capsules in US. Lenalidomide capsule is indicated for treatment of adults with multiple myeloma, mantle cell lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndromes. READ MORE

Shares of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), on Monday, hit a 52-week high of Rs 644.95 after rallying 10 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on the back of heavy volumes after the company said its board has accorded in-principle approval for exploring the possibility of borrowings an amount not exceeding Rs 3,500 crore by the company from any bank(s)/ corporate(s) and institution(s) towards executing long term lease agreement(s) for Railway Land(s). READ MORE

Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended the day as the top gainer on the NSE, up over 2 per cent, followed by the Nifty Realty index (up 1.4 per cent), and the Nifty Media index (up 1 per cent). On the downside, the Nifty Metal index fell 0.6 per cent on the NSE.

   

5:22 PM

TECH VIEW :: Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research

The market witnessed some lackluster movement and an attempt to hold the support level around the Nifty 50 index level of 15100. Trading above 15100 is positive from a short-term perspective. Sustaining above 15100 levels, the market expect to gain momentum, that could lead to upside projection till 15350-15400 level. The momentum indicators like RSI, MACD start showing signs of a short-term extended market. However, any divergence signal is not observed, alerting any potential deep correction.

5:08 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities

Indian benchmark equity indices ended mildly higher in a volatile session on May 24. Nifty opened higher and soon sold off in the first hour of trade. Another attempt to rise was cut short around 1450 Hrs with Nifty making almost a double top in the same day.  At close, the Nifty was up 22.40 points or 0.15% at 15,197.70.

 

Volumes on the NSE were in line with recent averages. Among sectors, Power, Realty, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods were the main gainers while Telecom and Metals were the main losers. Midcap and smallcap indices rose more than the Nifty supported by positive advance decline ratio.

 

Nifty has closed mildly higher on May 24, forming a doji after a rise, suggesting indecision at higher levels even as the Nifty approached past resistance levels. Largecaps are finding it difficult to rise as a group while the broader market still keeps doing well. 15256-15108 is the band for the Nifty for the near term.

 

4:57 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Sec

After a firm opening the market failed to gather momentum and closed with modest gains of 22.40 points to close at 15197,70. Ahead of the F&O expiry, the market usually moves in a narrow intra-day range. On Tuesday, we expect the market to remain volatile, as today the index has developed a Doji star formation. We can consider the Nifty 50 index to consolidate before heading towards 15400/15450 levels. Tomorrow, we expect the market to trade in a range of 15125 and 15275 levels, however, in the second half we would see a trending activity in the direction of a break-out of the given trading range. The focus should be on Auto, Reality and Infra stocks

4:48 PM

TECH VIEW :: Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

The short term trend of Nifty remains up. Further consolidation or any weakness from here could be a buy on dips opportunity. A sustainable upside breakout of 15K mark and the positive chart pattern of higher tops and bottoms indicate a strength of upside in the market and one may expect upside bounce from the lower levels. Immediate support is placed at 15085.

4:38 PM

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

Due to a steady decline in fresh covid cases and hopes of the lockdown being lifted sooner has influenced the domestic market to extend its gains. Positive quarterly earnings and easing asset quality woes helped banking stocks to attract buying interest while mid and small-cap stocks outperformed. On the global front, UK and US Manufacturing PMI data reported record-high numbers however investors are awaiting inflation data for guidance on monetary policy

4:23 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

Index opened the day with a small gap-up but showed profit booking and closed at 15197 with minimal gains & formed a small bearish candle on daily chart. Going forward, as the index has good support zone around 15,100-15,000, any dip around the said levels will act as a buying opportunity. Immediate resistance is placed at 15,250-15,330 zone where traders may see some profit-booking

4:08 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Markets traded volatile in a range and ended marginally in the green amid mixed cues. After the initial uptick, the benchmark hovered in a range till the end while the movement on the broader front kept the participants busy. On the sectoral front, a mixed trend was seen, wherein FMCG, metals and consumer durables were the losers, while banks, capital goods, power and oil & gas were the top gainers. Among the benchmark indices, Nifty ended up by 0.2% at 15,198 levels. The broader markets outperformed and ended in a range of 0.7-9%.

 

Markets are likely to take cues from the last leg of earnings and scheduled F&O expiry. Besides, global cues and news related to COVID cases and vaccine drive will be closely monitored by the participants. We reiterate our bullish yet cautious stance and suggest keeping the focus on selection of sectors and stocks.

3:56 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental) at Anand Rathi

Indian markets opened on a positive note tracking mostly positive Asian market cues but investors remained cautious over a resurgence in Covid-19 cases in some parts of the region as well as potential inflation pressures in the U.S. During the afternoon session markets pared some of their gains but continued to trade in positive terrain amid buying in blue chip stocks from across various sectors.

Traders also got solace as country’s daily COVID-19 cases stayed below the 300,000-mark for more than a week. Adding to optimism, RBI data showed the country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $563 million to reach $590.028 billion in the week ended May 14. Meanwhile, the overseas investors withdrew Rs 4,444 crore from Indian markets in May so far amid concerns over the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and its possible impact on the Indian economy

3:55 PM

BSE Snapshot :: M-cap of all BSE listed firms ends at Rs 219-trillion mark

3:54 PM

BSE Snapshot :: Top losers of the day

3:53 PM

BSE Snapshot :: Top gainers of the day

3:51 PM

SmallCap index ends near record high level of 23,338 hit in intra-day trade

3:49 PM

BSE MidCap index ends 0.8% up; here's how each constituent traded today

>> The index hit record high of 21,717 in the intra-day trade

3:46 PM

Financials, L&T, ITC help Sensex end higher on a volatile day

3:44 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE