MARKET WRAP: IT stocks, HDFC Bank, RIL help Sensex settle 329 pts higher

All that happened in the markets today

Rally in information technology (IT) stocks, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries (RIL) helped the benchmark index, S&P BSE Sensex, settle with 329 points or 0.94 per cent gains at 35,171 levels on Friday. 

NSE's Nifty rallied 94 points or 0.91 per cent to end at 10,383. Volatility index, India VIX, dropped over 4 per cent to 28.50 levels. 

IT stocks advanced in the trade after Accenture posted a better-than-expected quarterly numbers. The S&P BSE Information Technology index jumped over 5 per cent to end at 15,125 levels. Among individual stocks, Infosys gained 7 per cent, TCS rose 5 per cent while Wipro ended over 3 per cent higher. READ MORE

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 1.26 per cent while Nifty added 1.35 per cent. 

The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.27 per cent higher at 13,258.44 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 0.19 per cent to 12,630 points.

Global markets

Markets showed signs of optimism on Friday, with European shares opening higher and oil prices rising despite a record number of new COVID-19 infections in the United States. 

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was up 0.3%, extending gains from late on Thursday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5 per cent, for a weekly gain of around 0.7 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.3 per cent to sit 0.4 per cent higher for the week.

In commodities, gold prices edged higher and were headed for a third weekly gain on worries about rising coronavirus infections worldwide, although a firm dollar and a gain in equities blunted safe-haven demand.

Oil prices also rose, extending gains on optimism about a recovery in fuel demand worldwide. 

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:24 PM

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

"Amidst stable global cues, Indian benchmark indices also ended with a positive bias. The FMCG index which was the top gainer yesterday was the worst performer in today's trade.  Nifty remains in a range and seems to be awaiting further cues for a breakout on either side. The close today means the uptrend remains, but upsides seem to be capped."

3:44 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty IT index rallies over 4%

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 rallied 329 points or 0.94 per cent to end at 35,171 while NSE's Nifty settled at 10,383, up 94 points or 0.91 per cent.

 

3:23 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Adani Green hits 5% lower circuit

3:16 PM

MARKET UPDATE

• Infosys regains the tag of the fifth most valued listed company as stock rallies 7 per cent.
• With market-cap of Rs 318,882 crore, Infosys surpasses Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Bharti Airtel.

3:15 PM

NEWS UPDATE:: Top 5 gainers on the BSE at this hour

3:03 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Board discussed about the overall macroeconomic conditions – both domestic and global, says RBI

3:01 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
BIOCON	402.10	410.35	-0.52
COROMANDEL INTER	759.35	768.15	1.00
GUJARAT GAS	308.85	319.40	0.06
I O B	13.18	13.18	9.92
OMAXE	220.30	220.60	0.96

2:56 PM

MARCH QUARTER EARNINGS | Century Ply's net profit slips 32.1% YoY to Rs 37 crore

-- Revenue dips 10.5% YoY to Rs 530.2 crore

-- Ebitda down 15.4% at Rs 67.5 crore

-- Ebitda margin comes in at 12.7%, down 80 bps

2:52 PM

Bajaj Finance dips 4%, top Sensex loser at this hour

2:47 PM

Ruchi Soya surpasses Marico in market-cap ahead of Q4 results

Shares of Ruchi Soya Industries hit a fresh life-time high of Rs 1,507, up 5 per cent, on the BSE on Friday ahead of its January - March quarter (Q4FY20) results later in the day. The stock of the edibles oil firm was locked in the upper circuit for 22nd consecutive session. In the past one month, it zoomed 178 per cent as compared to 14 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ MORE 

2:43 PM

IndusInd Bank gains as promoter Indusind Int'l Holdings bought additional 1.66 lakh shares on Thursday

>> Stock rose 5.5% in the intra-day trade

2:38 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Centrum Broking on India Cements

Weak operating efficiencies, pricing pressure in key markets and higher interest burden will keep earnings for ICEM under pressure. Capacity addition put on hold will only respite the balance sheet from further stress. Weighing the pressure on margins and balance sheet we have assigned a higher discount of 50% to the replacement cost (Rs7.5bn/mt) to arrive at ICEM’s fair value of Rs69 (earlier Rs55). At our TP, the stock trades at an EV/EBITDA of 7.0x which is near its mean valuation. We retain our ‘Sell’ rating on the stock. The recent rally in the stock price is due to the investor action as Mr. R K Damani has hiked stake in ICEM to 20% from 5% earlier. We believe this will continue to keep the divergence in our target price (based on weak fundamentals) and the market prices. The stock price will converge with fundamentals in the medium term. 

2:30 PM

MARKET CHECK:: Sensex trades over 250 pts higher