Market Wrap, Jan 17: Mid-caps rally for 9th straight day; RIL surges 3%

After bouts of volatility in the last two trading sessions, markets took a breather on Friday and traded flat for the better part of the day. While financial and banking counters traded in the sea of red throughout the day, index heavyweights like Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel, that surged 3 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively in the intra-day trade today, provided the necessary support. 

The S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 42,064 in the intra-day trade today but pared gains to settle little changed at 41,945 level, up 13 points or 0.031 per cent. On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled 3.15 points, or 0.025 per cent, lower at 12,352-mark. 

Bharti Airtel, that gained over 6 per cent today, was the top gainer at the close. The stock hit an over 2-year high of Rs 503.60 on the BSE amid expectations that the telecom company is poised for strong market share gain if the payment on account of AGR makes Vodafone Idea exit the industry. At close, the stock was 5.4 per cent higher at Rs 499. 

On the downside, shares of Vodafone Idea plunged 39 per cent in the intra-day trade today but recovered losses partially to close 25 per cent lower at Rs 4.5 per share. 

According to a Business Standard report, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea should not expect any relief from the government as it feels the tariff hike and the deferment of the zero interconnect usage charge regime will push the sector out of financial distress. 

That apart, shares of Reliance Industries surged 3 per cent in the intra-day trade today as the AGR verdict is likely to be beneficial for Reliance Jio. The stock closed 2.8 per cent higher ahead of its Q3 results, to be declared in the evening today. 

Meanwhile, party in the broader markets continued for the ninth straight session. The S&P BSE Mid-cap index hit a 52-week high of 15,677 points on Friday, surpassing its previous high of 15,662, hit on April 3, 2019. A strong rally in Adani and Tata Group stocks, financials, pharmaceuticals and consumer discretionary goods & services counters supported the rally. At close, the index was up 0.5 per cent at 15,703 level. 

The S&P BSE small-cap index, on the other hand, ended at 14,709 level, up 0.42 per cent.

Here's how global markets performed today:

Asian shares rose on Friday after Q4 GDP data in China, for the calendar year 2019, showed pressure on the world’s second-biggest economy may be starting to diminish. The news along with easing trade tensions with the United States underpinned riskier assets, even as some markets took a breather in late afternoon trade.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.18 per cent in afternoon trade, while China’s blue-chip index ended 0.14 per cent higher.

Australian shares added 0.32 per cent to a fifth consecutive record high close, and Seoul’s KOSPI rose 0.11 per cent. 

In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.4 per cent, while German DAX futures gained 0.54 per cent.