Benchmark indices ended Friday's session with cuts, dragged down by bank stocks, after giving up the early gains during which they reclaimed the crucial 40,000 and 12,000 levels, respectively.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day 118 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower at 39,714 levels, with YES Bank, ITC, Vedanta, Mahindra & Mahindra, and NTPC leading the list of losers. The benchmark index slid almost 700 points off day's intra-day high, 40,122, but also staged a recovery to cut the losses. Out of the 30 BSE constituents, 19 ended the session in the red.
The broader Nifty50 index finished at 11,923, down 23 points, or 0.19 per cent. On a weekly basis, both Sensex and Nifty posted a gain of 0.8 per cent.
NEW GOVERNMENT & PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION Putting rest to all speculation, the President of India on Friday released the portfolio details of new Cabinet, a day after Narendra Modi took oath as the country's 16th Prime Minister.
There were expectations that Amit Shah, a seasoned stock broker and a key architect of NDA's victory for the second consecutive time will be handed over reigns of the Finance Ministry. This is after Arun Jaitley expressed his desire to stay away from any role in the new government citing health reasons. However, Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed the new Finance Minister, while Amit Shah will handle the Home Ministry.
MARKET EXPERTS REACT TO THE DEVELOPMENT Smriti Irani, who was expected to be awarded handsomely for defeating Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, has been made the Minister of Women and Child Development and Minister of Textiles.
Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice-president and head of research (wealth) at Centrum Broking said the portfolio allocation removes the ambiguity surrounding it, and hence, is good for the market "in a sense".
"We will get to see new finance minister Nirmala's proposals and approach in the budget due in about a month. Emergence of clarity is what was important, and now narrative in markets will be about the economic policies that will be adopted to revive and stimulate the slowing economy,” he said.
BUZZING STOCKS Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) hit a 52-week high of Rs 330, up 4 per cent, before ending the day 2.05 per cent higher at Rs 234.15 on the BSE, lifted by strong earnings in March quarter (Q4FY19) and fall in crude oil prices. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 5 per cent during the same period.
READ MORE Coal India shares rallied as much as 4.11 per cent in the morning deals on Friday, a day after the company reported an impressive 362.46 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 6,024.23 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The stock ended the session 0.18 per cent higher at Rs 253.35.
READ MORE "MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 118 pts, Nifty ends at 11,922 in volatile trade")
