Banks, IT lift Sensex 355 pts higher, Nifty atop 17,100; auto, pharma dip

CLOSING BELL: IT major TCS ended marginally in red amid high volatility a day after Gopinathan's resignation. In the broader markets, realty stocks also ended with solid gains.

Sensex

Stock Market Highlights: The Sensex and Nifty ended higher for the second straight trading session on Friday backed by renewed buying interest in IT and banking stocks. Realty shares too logged strong gains, while auto and pharma shares signed-off on a weak note.

The S&P BSE Sensex gyrated in a range of 675 points; the index from a high of 58,179 slipped into red to a low of 57,504. The BSE benchmark finally ended 355 points higher at 57,990.

The NSE Nifty 50 advanced 114 points as it reclaimed the 17,100 level.

Also read: Indian markets may underperform in 2023; buy the dips: CJ George

Among the Sensex 30 stocks, HCL Technologies soared over 3.5 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Nestle and Kotak Bank were the other major gainers, up over 2 per cent each. Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, SBI and Wipro were the other significant gainers.

TCS swung between zones and finally ended a tad in red at Rs 3,179, a day after its CEO & MD Rajesh Gopinathan resigned. Analysts caution against the near-term volatility in the stock price as the development comes amid a challenging macro-environment including fears of a potential recession in the US. READ MORE

On the other hand, NTPC slipped 1.7 per cent. Maruti Suzuki, PowerGrid Corporation, ITC, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints were the other prominent losers.

The broader markets also finished with gains. The BSE Midcap index advanced 0.3 per cent, and the Smallcap index added 0.7 per cent.

Sectorally, the BSE Realty index soared 3.2 per cent and was the top gainer. The Metal index surged 2.4 per cent. The Bankex and IT index gained over a per cent each.

4:12 PM

Comment :: 'Domestic indices took a breather in hopes of relief from the global banking turmoil'

Following the sharp rebound in the global markets, the domestic indices took a breather in hopes of relief from the global banking turmoil. Global equities reversed their selling streak on reports of a rescue package for the beleaguered First Republic Bank, along with an aid provided to Credit Suisse from the Swiss Central Bank, which would soothe concerns over the global financial stability. On the other hand, the ECB further raised its rates by 50 bps, indicating its preparedness to provide liquidity to banks upon necessity.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

3:57 PM

Tech View :: 'Pullback rally has some more steam left'

The Nifty witnessed a volatile day of trade today. It witnessed sharp swings in both directions and ultimately closed in the green for the second consecutive day. On the way up the 40 hour moving average and the hourly upper Bollinger band placed in the range 17,150 – 17,200 acted as a strong resistance and restricted further upside and on the way down the swing low formed at 16,850 shall act as a crucial support from short term perspective. We expect the Nifty to consolidate between these two parameters from the next few trading sessions. we believe that the pullback rally has some more steam left and the nifty is likely to carry on this positive momentum next week as well.

Views by: Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

3:55 PM

Currency check :: Rupee closes at 82.55/$ vs Thursday’s close of 82.73/$

3:53 PM

Buzzing stocks :: HDFC Bank, HDFC gain ovr 1% each as reports say NCLT approves merger

3:51 PM

Buzzing stock :: DIPAM says IDBI Bank privatisation 'on track'; stock leaps 5%

3:50 PM

Buzzing stock :: Reliance Infra up 5% after Delhi HC ruled in company's favour

>> DMRC - Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited Dispute - Delhi High Court Directs Centre, Delhi Govt to forthwith attend to DMRC's request for extension of sovereign guarantee/ subordinate debt to enable it make payment of dues to Reliance Infra-owned DAMEPL.

3:48 PM

Buzzing stock :: Jubilant Pharmova sprints over 12%, biggest one-day gain in over 2 years

Shares of Jubilant Pharmova Ltd. surged after the company announced that the Canadian government has approved a loan of CAD 23.8 million to part-finance the company’s capacity expansion of its manufacturing facility at Montreal.

3:46 PM

Buzzing stock :: Vedanta gains over 3% as chairman says Co has seen no default on debt

3:44 PM

Buzzing stock :: DLF up about 9% in 2 days as Co sells luxury apartments, worth Rs 8,000 cr, within 3 days

The project’s performance should be seen in the context of pre-sales of Rs 6,600 crore in 9MFY23 and Rs 7,300 crore in FY2022. The strong showing should help allay concerns on the strength of the residential up-cycle in the face of rising interest rates, according to analysts at Kotak Securities. READ MORE

3:41 PM

Buzzing stock :: TCS sees volatile trade a day after MD resigns, ends in red

Analysts caution against the near-term volatility in the stock price as the development comes amid a challenging macro-environment including fears of a potential recession in the US READ MORE