MARKET WRAP: Sensex gains 230 pts, ends above 39K level; auto stocks rally

All that happened in the markets today

Extending their gaining streak into the fourth session in a row, the domestic equity market settled with over 0.5 per cent gains on Wednesday.  

The S&P BSE Sensex reclaimed the crucial 39,000 level to settle at 39,074, up 230 points or 0.59 per cent.

IndusInd Bank (up 6 per cent) ended as the top gainer on the index, followed by Reliance Industries (up over 2.6 per cent) and Axis Bank (up over 2.5 per cent).

NSE's Nifty ended at 11,550, up 77 points, or 0.67 per cent.  

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, barring Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Pharma, all the other indices ended in the green. Nifty Auto advanced nearly 1.5 per cent to 8,100.50 levels. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.38 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rose 0.69 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of automobile companies were in focus after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council would look into the auto industry’s demand for lowering the tax rate on two-wheelers, which are now taxed at the highest slab rate of 28 per cent. READ MORE

Shares of drug firm FDC Ltd rose as much as 6.12 per cent to Rs 336.95 on the BSE after the company launched two variants of the Covid-19 drug Favipiravir under the brand names PiFLU and Favenza. The stock settled at Rs 327.40, up over 3 per cent. READ MORE

Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance surged 8 per cent in the intra-day trade on the BSE on the back of heavy volume. The stock eventually settled at Rs 218, up around 5.5 per cent. READ MORE 

Global markets

European stocks inched higher on Wednesday as hopes of additional stimulus for Germany and France outweighed worries about rising cases of Covid-19 across the continent.

In China, shares closed lower, hurt by weakness in tech-heavy startup board ChiNext, after investors booked profits after two consecutive sessions of sharp gains. The blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 1.2 per cent at 4,706.13 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 1.3 per cent to close at 3,329.74.

In commodities, oil rose towards $46 a barrel, near the highest since March, lifted by US producers shutting most of their offshore Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Laura and a report showing a drop in US crude inventories.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:12 PM

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

"Indian benchmark indices picked up positivity towards the latter half of the trading day, after trading flat with a slight positive bias, and ended in gains. It was in sync with a positive opening in the European markets which is banking on additional stimulus measures to aid economic recovery. Index heavyweight Reliance contributed more than half of the Nifty gains, while sectorally Auto and the Banking index contributed most. Auto stocks gained on expectations of government measures to help out the ailing sector.  Markets expected to trade uncertain on lack of fresh triggers while stock-specific action will continue."

4:10 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty Auto gains around 1.5%

4:09 PM

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

3:35 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 230 points or 0.59 per cent higher at 39,074 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,549.60, up 77 points, or 0.67 per cent. 

3:24 PM

MARKET CHECK:: Top 5 losers on the BSE at this hour

3:14 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on Gabriel India

Improving demand outlook leads to an upgrade in our estimates for GIL. We now expect sales, PAT to grow at a CAGR of 0.6%, -2.5%, respectively, in FY20-22E. GIL offers a play on the 2-W demand revival post-Covid and possesses strong financials (debt free B/S, healthy cash flow generation, double-digit return ratios). The recent run-up in stock price, however, limits our ability for a rating upgrade. Consequently, we retain our HOLD rating on the stock, valuing it at Rs 125 i.e. 22x FY22E EPS of Rs 5.6.

3:06 PM

Recovery from intra-day lows in today's session

COMPANY	DAY'S LOW(RS)	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	LATEST(RS)	RISE(%)
INDOSTAR CAPITAL	286.20	330.20	324.90	13.52
IIFL FINANCE	78.50	89.85	89.10	13.50
KPIT TECHNOLOGI.	82.05	94.25	92.95	13.28
INDIAMART INTER.	3226.00	3820.00	3640.00	12.83

3:03 PM

Invest directly only if you can pick stocks with good earnings potential

The mid- and small-cap indices have performed better than the large-cap index in the current rally. While the S&P BSE Sensex is up 26.62 per cent over the past three months, the S&P BSE Midcap index is up 34.61 per cent, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index is up 42.2 per cent over the same period. READ MORE

2:57 PM

NEWS ALERT | KNR Constructions wins order worth Rs 1,157 crore from TN govt; stock recovers from day's low

2:51 PM

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

2:48 PM

Government debt likely to stand at 80% of GDP by FY30: Motilal Oswal

The government's debt rose to 75 per cent of GDP in FY20 from 70 per cent in FY18 and is likely to reach 91 per cent in FY21, according to estimates from the EcoScope report of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. It will stay at more than 90 per cent up to FY23 before moderating slowly to 80 per cent by FY30. This surge in government debt-to-GDP ratio will restrict its ability to grow its spending significantly and support economic activity in the 2020s decade as it has done in the past few years, said the report released on Wednesday. READ MORE
 

2:47 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Venky's India zooms 13%

2:40 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Markets move higher on vaccine hope

2:36 PM

Asian Market Wrap :: Motilal Oswal Financial Services

2:33 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
ADANI GAS	187.65	196.50	1.41
AFFLE INDIA	2943.35	2943.35	5.00
ALLCARGO LOGIST.	129.75	139.90	-0.80
APL APOLLO TUBES	2467.50	2489.25	0.77
BAJAJ ELECTRICAL	508.45	513.00	6.05