MARKET WRAP: Sensex climbs 147 pts as rupee firms; auto, metal stocks rally

The benchmark indices ended higher on Friday aided by strong gains in automobiles and metal stocks after the rupee firmed against US dollar.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,390, up 147 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,589, up 52 points.

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index settled 2.2 per cent higher led by a rise in the share prices of Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Tata Motors. Nifty Metal index, too, rose 1.9 per cent led by MOIL and Jindal Steel & Power.

Firm rupee

The rupee was trading higher by 24 paise to 71.75 against the US currency in late morning deals on Friday due to sustained bouts of dollar selling from banks and exporters.

Earlier, the rupee resumed slightly higher at 71.95 against yesterday's closing level of 71.99 a dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market here. READ MORE

Global Markets

Asian shares carved out a 14-month trough on Friday as investors feared a new salvo of Sino-US tariffs could come at any moment, while a slump in US chip stocks rippled through the tech-heavy region.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.3 per cent, having earlier reached its lowest since mid-July last year. The Nikkei shed 0.8 per cent, undermined by a rising yen and reports US President Donald Trump could be contemplating taking on Japan over trade. Chinese blue chips managed a 0.5 per cent bounce as beaten-down healthcare stocks found buyers after taking a savaging in recent months amid vaccine scandals.

(with wire inputs)

3:39 PM

Nifty Auto index ends 2.20% higher. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN()	GAIN(%)
HERO MOTOCORP	3329.35	3164.85	164.50	5.20
BAJAJ AUTO	2923.55	2783.10	140.45	5.05
MOTHERSON SUMI	303.15	290.70	12.45	4.28
M & M	973.70	934.95	38.75	4.14
TVS MOTOR CO.	589.85	569.70	20.15	3.54

3:37 PM

Nifty sectoral gainers and losers of the day

3:35 PM

BSE Sensex: Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, M&M among top gainers of the day

3:32 PM

Markets at close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,390, up 147 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,589, up 52 points.

3:15 PM

Iron ore output to rise 5% in FY19 on stable demand from infra, auto

Domestic iron ore production is projected to grow by five per cent in 2018-19, helped by a stable demand from the infrastructure and automobile industries. Apart from the anticipated growth in production, demand for iron ore inside the country will be met by the accumulated ore stocks at mine heads, chiefly in the states of Odisha and Jharkhand which between them account for 80 per cent of the piled up inventory. READ MORE

 

3:04 PM

State Bank of India says Anshula Kant appointed MD

Top lender State Bank of India said on Friday that the government had appointed Anshula Kant as the bank's managing director. READ MORE

2:46 PM

YES Bank hits over 4-month low; stock falls 5%

Shares of YES Bank hit an over four-month low of Rs 322 per share, down 5% on the BSE on the back of heavy volumes. The stock was the largest loser among the S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 index READ MORE

2:30 PM

Two-fold jump in gold imports in August as traders replenish inventory

With the fall in gold prices internationally, jewellers and traders imported 100 tons gold in August to augment their inventories before falling rupee takes away the lower price advantage. However, the sudden jump in import has again raised current account deficit worries. READ MORE

2:14 PM

Motherson Sumi Systems gains 5% as board approves 1:2 bonus shares

Shares of Motherson Sumi Systems have surged 5% to Rs 306 per share on the BSE in the afternoon after the company said its board approved bonus shares in the ratio of 1:2 on completing 25 years of the listing of its equity shares on stock exchanges. READ MORE

2:01 PM

Market Check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	38,317.02	+74.21	+0.19
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	12,107.44	+36.78	+0.30
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	34,886.78	+409.48	+1.19
S&P BSE 100	11,874.70	+51.82	+0.44
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,660.88	+7.82	+0.21

1:45 PM

Data sharing woes impeding Sebi's several ongoing investigations

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is facing impediments with several ongoing investigations, on account of challenges around data sharing arrangements with other regulatory agencies. People in the know said several data requests made by Sebi in the past to other regulators, including the tax department and economic intelligence bureau, have not returned adequate responses. READ MORE

 

1:32 PM

OTT concerns to remain an overhang for Zee Entertainment; stock falls

The Zee Entertainment stock fell nearly 10 per cent intra-day on worries that its over-the-top (OTT) application Zee5 will weigh on margins.

 

Analysts at Morgan Stanley, in a report, indicated that intense competition in the OTT space — especially from deep pocketed international players Amazon and Netflix, as well as domestic players such as Reliance Jio — would require Zee to spend on high quality content, thus impacting margins. READ MORE

1:16 PM

Top gainers in BSE 500:

COMPANY	PRICE()	CHG()	CHG(%)
SUVEN LIFE SCIE.	314.10	33.65	12.00
TEJAS NETWORKS	310.50	33.20	11.97
JUBILANT LIFE	816.50	56.25	7.40
HIMADRI SPECIALT	130.50	8.80	7.23
AUROBINDO PHARMA	809.50	49.95	6.58

1:01 PM

Texmo Pipes zooms 67% in 4 days on order win worth Rs 813 million from L&T

Shares of Texmo Pipes & Products have surged 20% to Rs 39 per share, extending their past three days rally on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the company received order worth of Rs 813 million from Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The stock of plastic products company trading at its 52-week high has zoomed 67% in past four trading days from Rs 23.35 on Monday. READ MORE

12:45 PM

Brokerages gear up for longer trading hours and raise staff count

Brokerages have started gearing up for longer trading hours that come into effect from October 1. Most big brokers are adding manpower to service clients who want to avail longer trading hours. While smaller firms said they may not be able to add too much manpower, they will instead improve their digital offerings. READ MORE