Key benchmark indices logged strong gains, reversing intraday losses, led by gains in banking stocks and index heavyweights HDFC, ITC and Infosys. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 328.37 points or 1.28% to settle at 26,007.30. The Nifty 50 index rose 107.60 points or 1.37% to settle at 7,962.65. The Sensex closed a tad above the psychologically important 26,000 level which it had crossed in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, settled at their highest closing level in 16-1/2 weeks. All the nineteen sectoral indices on BSE registered gains.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC rose. Another index heavyweight and IT major Infosys rose. Index heavyweight and engineering & construction major L&T advanced. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC reversed intraday losses on bargain hunting after recent decline. Metal shares edged higher. Auto stocks gained on renewed buying. Bank stocks advanced.
The Sensex rose 328.37 points or 1.28% to settle at 26,007.30, its highest closing level since 1 January 2016. The Sensex jumped 376.07 points, or 1.46% at the day's high of 26,055. The index fell 129.88 points, or 0.51% at the day's low of 25,549.05.
The Nifty rose 107.60 points or 1.37% to settle at 7,962.65, its highest closing level since 1 January 2016. The Nifty jumped 119.45 points, or 1.52% at the day's high of 7,974.5. The index fell 32.50 points, or 0.41% at the day's low of 7,822.55.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,587 shares rose and 981 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.79%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.68%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2676 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4413.64 crore registered during the previous trading session.
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Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Bankex (up 2.02%), the S&P BSE Metal index (up 1.98%), the S&P BSE Realty index (up 1.93%), the S&P BSE Finance index (up 1.78%), the S&P BSE Auto index (up 1.57%) outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services index (up 1.19%), the S&P BSE Teck index (up 1.16%), the S&P BSE IT index (up 1.13%), the S&P BSE Industrials index (up 1.07%), the S&P BSE Basic Materials index (up 1%), the S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 0.94%), the S&P BSE Telecom index (up 0.85%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.83%), the S&P BSE Utilities index (up 0.82%), the S&P BSE Power index (up 0.81%), the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 0.77%), the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.45%), the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.41%) and the S&P BSE Energy index (up 0.28%) underperformed the Sensex.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC rose 1.77% to Rs 1131.25. The stock hit a high of Rs 1132 and a low of Rs 1103.90 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight and IT major Infosys rose 1.06% to Rs 1230. The stock hit a high of Rs 1239 and a low of Rs 1209 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight and engineering & construction major L&T rose 1.07% to Rs 1279. The stock hit a high of Rs 1283 and a low of Rs 1258 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 1.87% to Rs 327, reversing intraday losses on bargain hunting after recent decline. The stock hit a high of Rs 328.45 and a low of Rs 312 in intraday trade. The stock had declined 4.27% in the preceding four trading sessions to settle at Rs 321 yesterday, 25 April 2016, from its close of Rs 335.35 on 18 April 2016.
Shares of ITC fell in morning trade today, 26 April 2016, on reports that the government is working on a proposal to completely ban foreign direct investment in the tobacco sector. After making it mandatory to carry larger pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, the government is now working on a proposal to completely ban foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector, the report suggested. The Commerce and Industry Ministry is proposing to even ban FDI in licensing for franchise, trademark, brand name and management contract in the sector, report added. The ban would eliminate the possibility of indirect flow of overseas funds to the tobacco sector, even through foreign technology collaboration including licensing for franchise, trademark and brand name.
Metal shares edged higher. Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.37%), Vedanta (up 3.97%), Tata Steel (up 2.78%), National Aluminium Company (up 4.91%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.77%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.1%), JSW Steel (up 1.66%) edged higher. NMDC (down 0.36%) and Hindustan Copper (down 0.46%) fell.
Hindalco Industries advanced 4.93% after the company announced that it has communicated to its subsidiary, Aditya Birla Minerals its intention to accept the improved offer by Metal X to acquire shares of ABML. The announcement was made before market hours today, 26 April 2016.
Hindalco announced that it has communicated to Aditya Birla Minerals (ABML) its intention to accept the offer by Metal X to acquire shares of ABML subject to receiving the approval of the Reserve Bank of India and no bona fide superior proposal being announced by a third party within 5 business days of Metals X announcing its intention to make the aforesaid offer.
Metal X, a listed company in Australia has made an announcement regarding its intention to improve its ongoing takeover offer for acquiring shares of ABML under the relevant laws of Australia. ABML is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries and listed on Australian Stock Exchange. Metal X has offered 1 fully paid ordinary share in Metals X for every 4.5 ABML shares and A$0.08 in cash for every ABML share held. The offer is conditional upon Hindalco's acceptance and confirmation that it has obtained the requisite approval of Reserve Bank of India in this regard.
Auto stocks gained on renewed buying. Tata Motors (up 1.99%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 1.95%), Eicher Motors (up 1.3%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.94%), and TVS Motor Company (up 2.14%) gained. Hero MotoCorp (down 1.23%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.12%) fell.
Maruti Suzuki India surged 3.34%. The company reported 11.72% fall in net profit to Rs 1133.60 crore on 10.62% rise in total income to Rs 15426.90 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The company's board of directors has recommended a final dividend of Rs 35 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016. The result was announced during market hours today, 26 April 2016.
The company's sales volumes rose 3.9% to 3.6 lakh vehicles in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. Loss of 10,000 units due to Jat reservation agitation in Haryana, increased advertising expenses and lower other income impacted profits during Q4 March 2016. Maruti's other income dropped 62.11% to Rs 121.20 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015.
Maruti Suzuki India's net profit rose 23.2% to Rs 4571.40 crore on 15.9% rise in net sales to Rs 56350.40 crore in the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY 2016) over FY 2015. Higher volumes aided by successful new model launches and network expansion, lower raw material cost and cost reduction initiatives led to growth in profits in FY 2016.
Bank stocks advanced. Among private bank stocks, HDFC Bank (up 1.88%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.65%), ICICI Bank (up 0.18%), Axis Bank (up 1.59%), IndusInd Bank (up 3.65%) and Yes Bank (up 3.7%) gained.
Among PSU bank stocks, State Bank of India (SBI) (up 1.62%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.23%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.41%), Canara Bank (up 3.26%), Bank of India (up 0.47%) and Union Bank of India (up 0.69%) rose. IDBI Bank fell 0.7%.
Most realty shares edged higher. Prestige Estates Projects (up 4.14%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 3.33%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 3.10%), DLF (up 3.08%), Sunteck Realty (up 1.84%), Sobha (up 1.61%), Anant Raj (up 1.44%), Unitech (up 1.21%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.98%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.82%), D B Realty (up 0.64%), Parsvnath Developers (up 0.26%) and Peninsula Land (up 0.26%), edged higher. Godrej Properties (down 0.36%) and Phoenix Mills (down 0.7%), edged lower.
Aurobindo Pharma gained 1.35% after the company received final approval from the USFDA to manufacture and market Amlodipine and Valsartan Tablets USP, 5 mg/160 mg, 10 mg/160 mg, 5 mg/320 mg and 10 mg/320 mg. This product is expected to be launched in Q1 June 2016. The announcement was made during market hours today, 26 April 2016.
The approved Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD) Exforge Tablets of Norvartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Amlodipine and Valsartan Tablets are used in the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure. The approved product has an estimated market size of $123 million in US for the twelve months ending February 2016, according to IMS.
ABB India lost 4.03% as the company at the time of announcing Q1 March 2016 results reported a 1.4% decline in its order inflow at Rs 1830 crore over corresponding previous quarter. ABB India said that large orders, especially those based on industry capex, remained scarce as customers continued to delay investment decisions on low demand and under-utilized capacity. The company's order backlog stood at Rs 7804 crore as on 31 March 2016. ABB India's net profit rose 31.5% to Rs 71 crore on 10.2% growth in revenue to Rs 2000 crore in Q1 March 2016 over Q1 March 2015. The company attributed the growth in bottom line during the quarter to continuous focus on localization and engineering, while improving operational efficiences. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 25 April 2016.
Bharat Forge rose 1.54% after the company said it has entered into a contract with Boeing for developing and manufacturing 777X titanium forgings. The announcement was made during market hours today, 26 April 2016. The titanium forgings will be developed and manufactured by Bharat Forge using a closed die forging process, the company said. The first two forgings are scheduled to begin shipping to Boeing in late 2016, and will be followed by two more forgings in early 2017, the company said. Bharat Forge said it has started supplying titanium forged flap tracks for the Boeing Next Generation 737 airplane earlier this year. The company will also supply forgings for the 737 MAX, scheduled to enter service in 2017.
The Sensex has risen 665.44 points or 2.62% in this month so far (till 26 April 2016). The Sensex has fallen 110.24 points or 0.42% in calendar year 2016 so far (till 26 April 2016). From a 52-week low of 22,494.61 hit on 29 February 2016, the barometer index has risen 3,512.69 points or 15.61%. The Sensex is off 2571.03 points or 8.99% from a 52-week high of 28,578.33 hit on 23 July 2015. The Sensex is off 4017.44 points or 13.38% from a record high of 30,024.74 hit on 4 March 2015.
In overseas markets, Asian and European stocks were mixed as investors braced for central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan later this week. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) holds a two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, 27 April 2016 and Thursday, 28 April 2016. Market participants are becoming more confident in their expectations of further easing from the Bank of Japan. The BOJ in January decided to begin charging 0.1% interest on some bank reserves parked with the institution, in a bid to kick-start the economy and pull it out of two decades of deflation.
US stock prices fell yesterday, 25 April 2016, as weaker oil prices weighed on energy shares. The US Federal Reserve holds a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, 26 April 2016 and Wednesday, 27 April 2016. As per market expectations, the Fed is likely to hold rates steady this week. The Fed statement could provide clues on the future path for interest rates.
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