Market Wrap Podcast, September 24: All that happened in the markets today

A gap-up opening pushed the BSE flagship Sensex past the 60,000 mark for the first time on Friday. Even as the weak global sentiment tempered the mood, the bulls managed to hold their ground. The 30-pack index finally settled 163 points higher at 60,048. It had scaled a new high of 60,333 in intra-day deals. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index hit an all-time peak of 17,948 but came off highs to close to the session 30 points up at 17,853. For the week, the index has added over 1.5 per cent, logging its fifth straight weekly gains and longest winning streak since December 2020.

Only 11 of 30 Sensex stocks ended in the green, with Asian Paints, M&M, HCL Tech and HDFC Bank as the top gainers, while Tata Steel, SBI, Axis Bank and ITC were the worst laggards. Even overall, the market breadth was weak, with losers outpacing gainers, as investors booked profits in the broader markets. The BSE Midcap index tumbled 1.16 per cent and BSE Smallcap shed 0.30 per cent.

Sectorally, the trend remained mixed, with the realty pack continuing with its dream run. The index rose for the fourth straight session, rising 22 per cent during the period. The index added 1.5 per cent today. IT and auto indices were among other top performers. That said, investors booked profit in metals stocks, pushing Nifty Metal over 2 per cent down. It was trailed by Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty FMCG that lost over 1 per cent each.

Coming to stock-specific moves, the shares of Sansera Engineering got listed at Rs 811, a 9 per cent premium over the issue price of Rs 744. The stock extended gains and closed the session at Rs 819.

Shares of Ircon International climbed 3 per cent to Rs 46 after it won a bid to set-up a 500 MW solar power plant through an e-Reverse auction. The approximate cost of the project is Rs.2400 crore.

On the other hand, shares of PVR declined over 3.5 per cent after rating agency CRISIL downgraded its ratings on the bank facilities and debt programmes of the multiplex operator.

Another stock that remained in focus today was Airtel as it jumped to a new high of Rs 752.65 on the BSE ahead of its ex-date for the rights issue. The company’s Rs 21,000-crore rights issue will remain open for subscription between October 5 and October 21. The stock ended 2 per cent higher.

Now, going into trade next week, a host of cues will keep investors busy. First and foremost, volatility is likely with markets trading at all-time high levels and amid the monthly F&O expiry on Thursday. Analysts suggest that investors must carefully invest only in fundamentally sound stocks as markets are fickle and unpredictable.

Further, auto sales figures are due on October 1 and 2. Considering the increased concerns around chip shortage and the resultant dampened sales prospects, monthly auto sales are sure to grab eyeballs to determine a future trend in auto stocks. Now, macro cues are also due for release next week and could influence sentiments on Street. The investors will watch out for India's Infrastructure Output data for August on September 30 and Markit Manufacturing PMI for September on Friday, October 1.

Lastly, the IPO by Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC will open for subscription on September 29. The issue looks to raise over Rs 2,700 crore and is priced at Rs 695-712 per share. Further, the shares of the most subscribed Indian IPO Paras Defense would list on exchanges on Friday.