Fag-end buying lifts Sensex 260 pts, Nifty tops 14,550; Infosys dips 2.5%
Overall, the Nifty Bank, Pharma, Metal, IT, Financial Services, and Private Bank indices ended up to 1.4 per cent higher
 "Stock broker")
Stock market updates: A smart recovery in the fag-end of the session, aided by gains in private banks, metals, and pharma stocks, helped the benchmark indices reverse losses and end near day's high on Thursday. Among the headline indices, the BSE barometer Sensex ended 259.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, higher at 48,803.7 levels while the NSE's Nifty50 settled at 14,581 levels, up 76.6 points or 0.5 per cent supported by gains in heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, HDFC, Reliance Industries, ONGC, and Axis Bank. These stocks gained in the range of 1 per cent to 4 per cent.
Earlier in the day, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty hit a low of 48,010 and 14,353, respectively as a record spike of 200,739 cases in daily Covid-19 cases, weekend curfew in Delhi, and WPI inflation at an 8-year high of 7 per cent made investors jittery, nudging them to take profits off the table on concerns of a delay in economic recovery.
Investors were quick to off-load shares of auto and PSU banks. That apart, profit booking was also seen in select FMCG and IT stocks such as Nestle India, Britannia, Infosys and Tech M.
Overall, the Nifty Bank, Pharma, Metal, IT, Financial Services, and Private Bank indices ended up to 1.4 per cent higher while the Nifty Auto, Realty, PSU Bank, and FMCG slipped between 0.04 per cent and 1.5 per cent.
In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended 0.1 per cent and 0.03 per cent lower at 19,923 and 20,799.7 levels, respectively. In the intra-day deals, the indices had hit a low of 19,641 and 20,555, respectively.
The sudden rise in Covid cases and the micro-lockdowns imposed across key economic hubs in India have also made foreign brokerages trim their return expectation from Indian equities over the next 12 months.
After Nomura, that recently cut its March 2022 Nifty50 target to 15,340 (earlier target: 14,680 by December 2021), analysts at Goldman Sachs have now tempered their expectation, albeit modestly. They now see the Nifty at 16,300 levels in 12 months (16,500 earlier). However, they have retained their ‘overweight’ stance on India for now. READ MORE
Global markets
Asian shares slipped on Thursday dragged down by Chinese stocks as recent upbeat economic data raised fears of monetary policy tightening. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent while New Zealand's benchmark index fell 0.9 per cent. Japan's Nikkei, however,finished 0.07 per cent higher.
Chinese shares stumbled with the blue-chip CSI300 index down 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropping 0.8 per cent.
On the other hand, European shares hit record peak on rising commodity prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 index and UK’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.3 per cent each.
(With inputs from Reuters)
4:05 PM
MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services
Market is becoming more cautious as states are increasing restrictions due to the havoc created by the virus. Growth-oriented sectors & stocks are losing momentum while defensives like Pharma, FMCG & IT are gaining. However, states will not opt for a complete lockdown like last year, but high valuation will lead to a phase of short-term consolidation
3:52 PM
TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities
One more positive session witnessed today as the index closed a day at 14581 with gains of more than half per cent and formed a bullish candle for the second consecutive day. The index has formed a good base near 14460-14350 zone if managed to sustain the above-said levels we may see northward move towards 14700-14800 zone which is an immediate and strong hurdle on the higher side. The overall range for nifty is coming in between 14250 on the downside and 15k on the higher side
3:51 PM
STOCK OF THE DAY :: Dabur ends 3% higher, m-cap hits Rs 1.01 trillion
3:48 PM
STOCK OF THE DAY :: Infosys ends 2.6% down
3:46 PM
Broader market :: BSE MidCap index fails to turn positive
3:44 PM
Stocks that helped Sensex recoup losses
3:42 PM
Sectoral trends on the NSE :: Auto, PSB indices down 1.3% each
3:39 PM
Sensex Heatmap at Close
3:38 PM
Sensex closes nearly 800 pts higher from day's low
3:35 PM
CLOSING BELL
Among the headline indices, the BSE barometer Sensex ended 259.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, higher at 48,803.7 levels while the NSE's Nifty50 settled at 14,581 levels, up 76.6 points or 0.5 per cent supported by gains in heavyweights like TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, HDFC, Reliance Industries, ONGC, and Axis Bank. These stocks gained in the range of 1 per cent to 4 per cent.
3:21 PM
Here are the top gainers on the S&P BSE Sensex at this hour
3:03 PM
Sharp upswing in markets; Sensex at day's high
3:03 PM
Sharp rebound! Sensex trades at day's high
2:52 PM
This information technology stock has zoomed 134% in 6 weeks
Shares of Aurionpro Solutions hit a 31-month high of Rs 192.45 after rallying 17 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday on the back of heavy volumes. The trading volumes on the counter jumped nearly three-fold with a combined 470,000 equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE, till 02:10 pm. READ MORE
2:45 PM
Coinbase shares jump 10% day after Nasdaq debut
Coinbase Global Inc shares jumped 10% in early trades on Thursday, a day after the cryptocurrency exchange went public in a high-profile debut on the Nasdaq that briefly valued it at more than $100 billion.
The debut marks another milestone for bitcoin and other digital assets and comes amid a surge in the value of cryptocurrencies that has lured a clutch of mainstream, top-tier firms.
Cathie Wood’s Ark funds bought $246 million worth of Coinbase shares in the debut on Wednesday, according to the firm’s daily trade summary.
(Source: Reuters)
Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel
First Published: Apr 15 2021 | 7:54 AM IST
