Sensex sprints 1,335 points, Nifty tops 18,050; HDFC twins jump up to 10%

CLOSING BELL: Besides, Kotak Bank, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, L&T, and Sun Pharma were the other top gainers

CLOSING BELL

The surprise merger announcement of HDFC and HDFC Bank catapulted the benchmark indices beyond key psychological levels on Monday as hefty buying in the two index heavyweights lifted market mood.

The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 surged over 2.5 per cent intra-day and hit highs of 60,845 and 18,114, respectively. The indices, however, pared gains marginally to end at 60,612 and 18,053, respectively. The 30-pack soared 1,335 points and the 50-pack index jumped 383 points.

The gains were courtesy a 10-per cent rally in HDFC Bank and 9-per cent in HDFC. Shareholders of HDFC Ltd will receive 42 shares of the bank for 25 shares held. Shares held by the housing finance company in the lender will be extinguished, making HDFC Bank a full-fledged public company. The transaction is expected to be completed in 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals. READ MORE

Besides, Kotak Bank, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, L&T, and Sun Pharma were the other top gainers, up between 2 per cent and 3 per cent. On the flipside, Infosys and Titan Company were the only losers, down up to 1 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices 1.34 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively. In comparison, the headline indices ended 2.25 per cent up.

Among sectors, the Nifty Financial Servoces index zoomed 4.5 per cent, followed by the Nifty Bank index, up 4 per cent. The Nifty IT index clocked the most tepid gains today, rising just 0.2 per cent.

4:02 PM

Technical View: Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

Nifty has moved up above 18000 smartly following a sustained trade above the previous consolidation on the daily chart. Besides, the price has moved above 200DEMA on the daily timeframe. The near-term trend looks positive from here. On the higher end, the index may move towards the falling trend line on the daily chart. The immediate resistance is visible near 18150. On the lower end, support is visible at 17800.

4:01 PM

Market view: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

The mega-merger news of the HDFC Twins and the rare sight of a 15% up-move in them today at a point in time propelled benchmark indices 2.5% higher with good support from Metal stocks. The broader markets witnessed the continuation of the uptrend in Fertilizer stocks even as the Bank Nifty rose 4% with private banks being sought after.

4:00 PM

Market view: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Domestic market was lifted by the announcement of HDFC bank and HDFC merger, improving sentiments of the stock market and financial sector. The upcoming focus of the market will be on earnings reports and RBI meeting this week. Q4 results will have a decent start supported by IT sector while RBI is expected to hold the rates with an accommodative policy.

3:58 PM