Sensex slips 477 pts from day's high, ends at 37,663; Tata Steel gains 6%

All that happened in the markets today

After starting on a strong note, the domestic stock market turned highly volatile in the intra-day session and ended flat on Wednesday, weighed down by blue-chips such as Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank, and Infosys. 

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended 25 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 37,663 levels while NSE's Nifty settled at 11,102, up 6 points or 0.06 per cent. Of Sensex's 30 constituents, 19 advanced while 11 declined. Volatility index, India VIX, dropped over 1 per cent to 23.5 levels.

On the sectoral front, metal stocks rallied the most. The Nifty Metal index jumped over 4 per cent to 2,269 levels with 13 out of 15 constituents advancing and the rest two ending in the red. READ MORE

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.39 per cent higher at 13,910 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 13,430, up 0.85 per cent. 

Among individual stocks, SPARC settled nearly 7 per cent higher at Rs 186.50 on the BSE after the company declared healthy June quarter results on Tuesday. The company's net profit in Q1FY21 came in at Rs 56.69 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 94.19 crore in the year-ago quarter. READ MORE

PI Industries gained over 3.5 per cent to Rs 1,896.20 on the BSE after the company reported a strong set of numbers for the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21 (FY21). The stock hit an all-time high of Rs 1,966 during the session. READ MORE

Global markets

European stocks opened higher, aided by a batch of positive earnings. US equity futures rose too, indicating a firm open for Wall Street, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan rose 0.7 per cent to a 6-1/2 month peak.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.26 per cent and Australia's benchmark index slipped 0.6 per cent, notable underperformers in otherwise generally upbeat Asian stock markets. South Korea's Kospi hit its highest level since October 2018.

In commodities, Gold scaled an all-time peak, after topping the $2,000 mark in the previous session, spurred on by a weaker dollar, falling US Treasury yields and expectations of more stimulus measures to revive a pandemic-ravaged economy.

Oil prices, too, firmed after data showed a big drop in US crude inventories. 

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:52 PM

Market Closing Comment :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Indian benchmark indices were volatile in trade before closing flat with a positive bias. Global cues were also positive while gold again jumped to record highs. Positive earnings reports are driving stocks and markets around the world, and the same trend is visible in the Indian markets too. Liquidity is a major driver for the markets and it is chasing companies which are declaring stable earnings or outlook. Uncertainties remain while in the near term markets will look forward to the commentary and RBI actions at the end of the MPC meeting tomorrow

3:46 PM

Market Statistics at Close

3:45 PM

Sector loser :: 6 out of 10 Nifty pharma index-constituents end in the red

3:44 PM

Sector gainer :: Nifty metal index ends over 4% higher

3:42 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at Close

3:41 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:37 PM

Closing Bell | Markets end mixed after a volatile day

>> The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 24 points, or 0.07 per cent, lower at 37,663 level

>> The broader Nifty50, meanwhile, added 6 points, or 0.04 per cent, to close at 11,101 level.

3:25 PM

Airtel ties up with Amazon to sell AWS solutions to companies in India

Airtel Cloud will build an AWS Cloud Practice supported by AWS Professional Services, as well as develop differentiated Airtel Cloud products and capabilities leveraging AWS services, Airtel’s data centre capabilities, and Airtel’s network and telecoms offerings. Airtel customers will benefit from an integrated sales, consulting, and support approach from both companies, and improved security, scalability, and cloud management capabilities. READ MORE

3:17 PM

A white knight galvanises Eveready as it struggles amid debt problems

Brij Mohan Khaitan stepped into the elite world of tea as a white knight when in 1961, a Marwari businessman, B Bajoria, had cornered a 25 per cent stake in Bishnauth, part of one of India’s top managing agency firms, Williamson Magor & Company. The shareholding was just a per cent short of the 26 per cent promoter holding. READ MORE

3:06 PM

Looking for a second home? UK, Spain among top destinations: Knight Frank

One in four people surveyed by Knight Frank, said they were more likely to move in the next 12 months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with most respondents seeking a different property in the same location (40 per cent). Around 26 per cent said they are willing to move to a different property elsewhere in the same country and 34 per cent of those considering a move are scouting for a purchase abroad (9 per cent of all respondents), the survey findings suggest. READ MORE 

2:54 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Axis Securities on State Bank of India

RATING: BUY | TARGET PRICE: Rs 240

We believe the key positive of SBIN which will drive its performance are:

• Being the largest bank in India the bank has business strengths making it a beneficiary of liquidity with huge deposit inflow during uncertain times resulting in a lower cost of funds; 
• Asset quality has improved on book clean –up efforts over the last few years resulting in lower slippages and NPA decline;
• PCR has improved to 67%. Provisions for legacy stress is mostly over though Covid-19 may keep credit cost elevated;
• Subsidiaries performance has been improving.

2:46 PM

Average spot power price falls 27% to Rs 2.47 per unit in July on IEX

The day ahead market (DAM) traded 4,487 MU(million units)during the the month, an IEX statement said.

 

"With robust sell side liquidity, the average market clearing price in the day-ahead market during the month at Rs 2.47 per unit registered a 27 per centyear-on-year decline over a price of Rs 3.38 in July2019," the statement said. READ MORE

2:34 PM

MARKET CHECK:: BSE Midcap index outperforms Sensex

2:25 PM

Tech companies could be brokers of tomorrow, says Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath

Most brokers who allowed commodity trading lost some money here, Zerodha luckily has a model wherein we have many smaller customers versus a few huge ones. This inherently mitigates risk and makes Zerodha a safer option for investors. Exchanges and brokers across the board have now updated their systems to make sure we are better prepared for this situation in the future. READ MORE

Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder and CIO, True Beacon and Zerodha

2:15 PM

Cadila Healthcare slips 4.5% from day's high post June quarter results

It's net profit, however, came in at Rs 454 crore, clocking a 49.53 per cent growth YoY from Rs 303.6 crore reported in Q1FY20. In the March quarter of FY20, the profit was Rs 391.9 crore. Profit before tax (PBT), too, soared 50.64 per cent to Rs 593.40 crore in Q1FY20 as against Rs 393.90 crore in Q1FY19. Current tax expense for the quarter jumped 106.39 per cent at Rs 106.50 crore as against Rs 51.60 crore in Q1 June 2019. READ MORE