Fag-end buying lifts Sensex 149 pts; Nifty near 18K; Titan soars 6%, SBI 3%

Closing Bell

Domestic indices ended a choppy day in the positive territory on Tuesday amid fag-end buying in PSB, FMCG, and auto stocks. The Nifty PSU Bank index settled 3 per cent higher on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today, followed by the Nifty FMCG and Auto indices (up 1.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively).

Earlier in the day, Indian equities mirrored global trends and remained in the red for the better part of the day as a global energy crunch fuelled inflation fears and concerns about Evergrande's debt problems clouded investor sentiment. Besides, soaring crude oil prices, where the Brent crude futures topped $84 per barrel-mark, further spoilt market mood.

However, bargain hunting at lower levels pushed indices in the positive territory. The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 60,284 levels, up 148.5 points or 0.25 per cent while the Nifty50 index shut shop at 17,992-mark, up 46 points or 0.26 per cent. Both the indices had hit intra-day lows of 59,885 and 17,865, respectively.

Titan (up 6 per cent), Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto, Divis Labs, SBI, Hindalco, and Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers on the 50-pack index. On the flipside, HCL Tech down 3.75 per cent), Tech M, HDFC Life, Coal India, and Ultratech Cement were the top laggards.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE amid outperformance of the broader markets. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended 0.65 per cent and 0.26 per cent higher amid gains in IDBI Bank (up 20 per cent), Future Retail, Indian Bank, BHEL, Radico Khaitan, Network18 Media, GM Breweries, and FSC.   

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MARKETS at 2:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The domestic benchmark indices turned positive in the last hour of trade amid buying in select banking and auto stocks. The BSE Sensex held above the 60,000-mark, up around 103 points at at 60,239, and the Nifty was up 32 points at 17,977. On the BSE, About 1,558 shares have advanced, while 1,499 shares declined. In the 50-pack index, to top gainers were Titan, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv, SBI and Hero MotorCorp. The top losers were HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Life and Coal India. 

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank was the top gainer, rising nearly 3 per cent, followed by Nifty Media, which gained 1.55 per cent. The only sectoral losers were Nifty IT (down 1 per cent) and Nifty Pharma (down 0.3 per cent). Among IT stocks, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, KPIT Technologies and Birlasoft fell 2-4 percent.

However, the broader markets continued to trade in the green. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.4 per cent, while the Smallcap 100 index was up 0.9 per cent. 

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee fell to a 15-month low on Tuesday amid negative triggers such as higher oil prices, rising U.S. bond yields. The currency extended a bout of weakness to fall to a low of 75.65 against the U.S. dollar in afternoon trade, down 0.35 per cent for the day.
 

MARKETS at lunch (Updated at 1:30 PM): The domestic benchmark indices were trading lower dragged by IT stocks. The Sensex was down 80 points at 60,055, and the Nifty was down 22 points at 17,924. About 1,490 shares have advanced, 1,555 shares declined on the BSE. 

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index continued to fall as much as 1.4 per cent, followed by Nifty Pharma and Private Bank indices. The Nifty PSU Bank index was the top gainer, rising 1.4 per cent in noon deals. Other gaining sectors were media, realty, metal, FMCG and auto. 

That said, the broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap index rose 0.28 per cent, while the Smallcap index was up 0.14 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, eased 0.4 per cent to 16.02 level. 

Meanwhile, shares of consumer discretionary companies were on a roll on Tuesday with most of the frontline firms trading at record high levels on expectation of strong improved earnings going forward. READ MORE

EUROPE MARKETS UPDATE

European shares lost ground on Tuesday after similar falls in Asian markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.9 per cent . The index is now about 5 per cent away from its August peak. Economically sensitive mining, banking and chemical all shed more than 1 per cent, leading morning declines even as a rally in oil and other commodity prices lost some steam. 

Markets at 12 NOON: The benchmark indices continued to trade with deep cuts in the afternoon on Tuesday. The Sensex was down 175 points at 59,960, and the NSE Nifty declined 63 points to 17,883.
 

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT was the top loser, down 1.7 per cent. Other laggards included the metal, pharma, realty and banking sectors. The only sectoral indices in the green were Nifty FMCG and Auto. In the broader market, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were largely flat. 

Meanwhile, shares of Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works (KMEW) were locked in the upper circuit of 20 per cent at Rs 70.55 on the BSE in Tuesday's session on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of the shipping company has zoomed 68 per cent in the past three trading days from the level of Rs 41.90 on October 7, 2021. READ MORE HERE

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares dropped on Tuesday, as a global energy crunch fuelled inflation fears, clouding investor sentiment before the U.S. corporate earnings season. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.9 per cent in early trade, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, fell 0.43 per cent. Australian shares slipped 0.29 per cent while Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 1.03 per cent. China's blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.75 per cent lower, while the Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened down 1.35 per cent.

Further, Oil prices, which had jumped on Monday on rebounding demand and cutbacks in supply, dropped slightly with U.S. crude down 0.36 per cent to $80.23 a barrel. Brent crude fell to $83.39 per barrel.
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Markets at 11: The benchmark indices were hovering near the day's low in mid-morning trade on the back of persistent selling pressure in IT and select financial shares. The Sensex was down 198 points at 59,937, and the NSE Nifty declined 50 points to 17,896.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were flat. Whereas, among sectors, the IT index was down 1.3 per cent. Healthcare and Oil & Gas indices were the other notable losers. The Auto index, however, was up 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Radico Khatian soared 11 per cent to a high of Rs 1,131.55 on the BSE in intra-day trades, after the company announced the launch of two new premium Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) namely Magic Moments Dazzle Vodka and Royal Ranthambore Heritage Collection Royal Crafted Whisky (blended malt scotch) in the brown and white spirit categories. READ MORE

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Early Morning Trade: (Updated at 09:50 AM)

The markets were exhibiting volatility in early morning trade on Tuesday, amid negative gloabl cues and stock specific trading action. The BSE Sensex touched a low of 59,992 in the opening deals, but soon recovered losses and jumped to a high of 60,264. The Sensex, however, could not hold gains for long, and slipped back into the negative zone, down 83 points at 60,052.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 10 points at 17,936.

Elsewhere in Asia, China's Shanghai Composite index, Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei were down a per cent each.

Back home, the broader markets, however, were holding some gains. The BSE Midcap was up 0.1 per cent at 26,000, and the Smallcap index was up 0.2 per cent at 29,555.

IT stocks continued to reel under selling pressure for the second straight day. The BSE IT index was down 0.4 per cent at 34,600. The BSE Realty index is the other major loser, down 0.8 per cent at 4,177.

On the positive front, the BSE Consumer Durables index has surged a per cent to 44,683, and the FMCG index has added 0.5 per cent. The Auto index has also gained 0.7 per cent, while the Energy index was up 0.4 per cent.

Bajaj Auto has rallied 3 per cent to Rs 3,969, and was the top gainer in the Sensex 30. Titan Industries, ITC and Dr.Reddy's were the other prominent gainers, up 1-2 per cent each.

On the flip side, HCL Technologies has shed 2.5 per cent at Rs 1,270. Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra are the other notable losers.

The market breadth is fairly positive in the first hour of trades, with 1,632 advancing shares versus 1,114 declining stocks on the BSE.
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Opening Trade:  (Updated at 09:20 AM)

Mirroring negative cues from the overseas markets, the BSE Sensex opened 90 points lower at 60,046. The BSE index touched a low of 59,991, but soon recouped losses and rebounded into the positive zone. The BSE index was quoted at 60,171, up 36 points as of 09:20 AM. The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 30 points at 17,976.

Among the broader indices, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.5 per cent each at 26,100 and 29,673, respectively.

Sun Pharma was the top gainer in the Sensex 30 stocks, up a per cent at Rs 841. NTPC, SBI, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Auto also edged higher in opening deals.

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra slipped a per cent to Rs 887. Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, and ICICI Bank were other prominent losers.
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Pre-open Session: (Updated at 09:10 AM)

The BSE Sensex ended the pre-open session, with a loss of 91 points at 60,045. The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 30 points at 17,916.

NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex 30 stocks, up 1.5 per cent followed by TCS, HCL Technologies, PowerGrid Corporation and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and ICICI Bank were the prominent losers in the Sensex 30.

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(Updated at 08:11 AM)

Indian market are eyeing a gap-down start on Tuesday as soaring energy and commodity prices stoke inflation fears. SGX Nifty was down 105 points at 17,856 around 8.05 am.

Separately, investors would keenly eye the September CPI Inflation and the Industrial Output for August, wherein encouraging numbers could help markets trim losses.

Earnings Today
A total of 6 companies will post their September quarter earnings today, namely BEPL, DRC Systems India, JTL Infra, Ind Bank Housing, IndBank Merchant Banking Services and G.M. Breweries.