MARKET WRAP: Indices end flat, Sensex up 60 pts; ITC, TCS rise nearly 2%

All that happened in the markets today

The domestic stock market ended Monday's range-bound session on a flat note. While select financial and auto counters slipped in the trade, FMCG, IT stocks and Reliance Industries (RIL) witnessed buying.

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended at 38,417, up 60 points, or 0.16 per cent, with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) being the top gainer and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), down over 3 per cent, the biggest loser. 

The Nifty50 index, meanwhile, ended at 11,355, up 21 points, or 0.19 per cent. India VIX declined nearly 2.5 per cent to 21.6 levels. 

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty Auto index fell nearly 0.5 per cent to 7,958 levels while Nifty Bank settled at 22,945, down 0.3 per cent. Nifty Realty index ended around 1 per cent lower at 218 levels. On the other hand, Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG ended 0.57 per cent higher each.  

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap settled at 14,702, down 0.8 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.2 per cent lower at 14,573.48.

Buzzing stocks

SpiceJet ended 2.5 per cent lower on the BSE at Rs 52.3, but recovered from an intra-day low of Rs 51.60 on Monday, after the Delhi High Court asked cash-strapped airline to deposit within six weeks an additional Rs 243 crore in connection with a share-transfer dispute with ex-promoter Kalanithi Maran, owner of Sun group. READ MORE

Continuing their northward movement, shares of Astrazeneca Pharma India hit a fresh record high of Rs 4,669.90 on the BSE in the intra-day session. The stock settled at Rs 4,588.85, up 18 per cent.  

Shares of Tata Motors Differential Voting Rights (DVRs) rallied 11 per cent to Rs 62.50 during the day after its promoter Tata Sons acquired more than 5 million shares, worth Rs 30 crore, via open market on Friday. The stock ended at Rs 61.90, up over 10.5 per cent. READ MORE
 

Global markets

World shares rose slightly on Monday after losing $2.3 trillion in the last two sessions in a technology stocks led rout as investors reassessed soaring valuations when the global economy is in a coronavirus-induced recession while oil prices dropped.

European stocks, which have fewer technology stocks compared to the United States, started the week in the black driven by a 1.2% gain in Germany's Dax and London's export-heavy FTSE 100.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:03 PM

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

"Indian markets traded with volatility and finally ended the day with a positive bias. Virus infections continued to rise unabated and this fear combined with a sell off seen in the US markets, in the previous trading session, served to bring in doubts regarding the continuation of the momentum seen in recent times in the market. Investors would do well to stay nimble, watch global sentiments and trade cautiously"  

3:43 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG gain 0.57% each

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 ended at 38,417, up 60 points, or 0.16 per cent while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,355, up 21 points or 0.19 per cent. 

3:24 PM

AstraZeneca Pharma hits fresh record high of Rs 4,489; stock surges 15%

Continuing their northward movement, shares of Astrazeneca Pharma India hit a fresh record high of Rs 4,489, up 15 per cent on the BSE on Monday, in an otherwise range-bound market, amid expectation that the company’s candidate, AZD1222, could be viewed as a frontrunner in a global race to deliver an effective vaccine to combat the Covid-19 virus. READ MORE

3:12 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: HDFC Securities on Asian Paints

RATING: REDUCE | TARGET PRICE: Rs 1,800

Asian Paints (52/64% revenue/PAT share) with 2.5-7x active dealers than the next three paint companies remains de-facto king in distribution/supply chain of paints in India. Coupled with better price laddering of products across categories/price points, this has ensured its unhindered dominance over decades. Promising optionality in waterproofing/other adjacent categories (we build in 40-50bp incremental growth from waterproofing) could surprise on the upside. We build in Sales/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 8/9/10% over FY20-23E. Alas! all pluses seem priced-in at 55x Sept-22 P/E. We initiate coverage with a Reduce Reco and DCF-based TP of Rs. 1,800/sh (implying 50x Sep-22 P/E).

3:02 PM

HDFC's all-time low core valuations offer an interesting proposition

Over the weekend, India’s largest housing financier – Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC Limited) announced that it has approved Rs 47,000 crore towards the affordable housing segment. This is a significant milestone, given that the lender is often viewed catering to the mid- to upper-market segments. READ MORE

3:01 PM

IndiaMART InterMESH zooms 9% in an otherwise range-bound market

2:54 PM

Fall from intra-day high today in BSE500 stocks

COMPANY	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	DAY'S LOW(RS)	LATEST(RS)	FALL(%)
DHANUKA AGRITECH	794.00	738.35	738.70	-6.96
FUTURE CONSUMER	11.10	10.37	10.37	-6.58
VODAFONE IDEA	13.21	12.20	12.35	-6.51
GULF OIL LUBRIC.	698.00	653.90	654.00	-6.30

2:49 PM

Fall in GDP alarming; time for bureaucracy to take meaningful action: Rajan

"The sharp decline in economic growth should alarm us all. The 23.9 per cent contraction in India (and the numbers will probably be worse when we get estimates of the damage in the informal sector) compares with a drop of 12.4 per cent in Italy and 9.5 per cent in the United States, two of the most COVID-19-affected advanced countries," Rajan wrote in a post on his LinkedIn page. READ MORE

2:40 PM

Future Retail hits lower circuit for fifth straight day, slips 34% in 1 wk

In the past one week, the stock of Future Retail has underperformed the market by declining 34 per cent, as compared to a 0.73 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Till 02:03 pm, a combined 1.38 million equity shares had changed hands on the counter. There were pending sell orders for 11 million shares on the NSE and BSE, exchange data shows. READ MORE  

2:34 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
ASTRAZENECA PHAR	4059.40	4082.00	4.31
DIXON TECHNOLOG.	8860.00	8935.00	3.30
GRANULES INDIA	381.80	382.95	10.35
INDIAMART INTER.	4721.60	4770.00	15.16
SUPREME INDS.	1419.25	1425.00	2.85

2:28 PM

SBI invokes personal guarantees of Bhushan Power & Steel promoter

The State Bank of India (SBI) has invoked the personal guarantees of Sanjay Singal, promoter of Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, after the company defaulted on loans worth Rs 48,000 crore to a consortium of banks. The company's debt resolution is almost ready, with JSW Steel declared the highest bidder with Rs 19,700-crore as an offer for the company. READ MORE

2:17 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee ends weaker at 73.34 per US dollar vs Friday's close of 73.14/$

2:11 PM

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