Monday, December 23, 2024 | 08:04 AM ISTEN Hindi

Sensex ends choppy day 108 pts up; Adani group stocks tumble, defence rally

CLOSING BELL: The S&P BSE Sensex is now just 265 points shy from its all-time 62,245 registered on October 19, 2021.

SI Reporter New Delhi

Nifty, market, sensex, stocks, investors, growth

STOCK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

The key benchmark indices swung between zones as investors turned cautious with the indices nearing life-time highs. The sentiment was also dented on reports of a missile strike on Poland. Earlier reports hinted that it could have been a Russian fired missile, but later in the day US officials suggested that the missile may have fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.

Back to the markets, the S&P BSE Sensex topped the 62,000-mark for the first time in 13 months, as it scaled a high of 62,053. The 30-share benchmark finally ended with a gain of 108 points at 61,981. In the process, the Sensex is now just 264 points shy of its life-time high 62,245 touched on October 19, 2021.

The NSE Nifty touched a high of 18,442, and eventually settled seven points higher at 18,410.

Among the Sensex 30 shares, Kotak Bank rallied 2.6 per cent. Hindustan Unilever, Dr.Reddy's and TCS were the other prominent gainers. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel shed 2 per cent each. Bajaj Finserv and NTPC were down over a per cent each.

The broader markets finished in red. The BSE Midcap index slipped 0.7 per cent, and the Smallcap index was down 0.3 per cent. The breadth too was fairly negative, with nearly 2,100 shares declining as against 1,440 stocks on the BSE.

Adani Group shares witnessed selling pressure in the latter half of the trading day. Adan Green cracked 4 per cent. Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, Adani Wilmar and Ambuja Cements were down around 2 per cent each. ACC and Adani Transmission were down nearly a per cent each.

Sectorally, the BSE Metal index fell 1.5 per cent. The Power and Realty indices were also down over a per cent each.

New Listings

Global Health, operator of Medanta brand of hospitals, made a strong debut. The stock ended with a premium of nearly 24 per cent at Rs 416 to its issue price of Rs 336. READ MORE

Another debutant Bikaji Foods International soared to high of Rs 335 in intraday deals, but eventually ended 5.8 per cent higher at Rs 317. READ MORE

Primary Market Update

Keystone Realtors IPO was subscribed 2 times as of 03:45 PM on the final day of the offer period. QIBs portion was subscribed 3.8 times, while retail category received bids for up to 47 per cent of the reserved quota.

4:07 PM

COMMENT :: 'The recent move in the index lacks decisiveness and shows an early sign of exhaustion'

After the initial downtick, the Nifty index oscillated in a narrow range till the end and finally settled at 18,409 levels. Meanwhile, sectoral indices traded mixed wherein metal, media and realty lost over a percent each. Besides, the prevailing underperformance of the broader indices continues to weigh on the sentiment.

The recent move in the index lacks decisiveness and shows an early sign of exhaustion too however we recommend following the trend until it reverses. We’re seeing select heavyweights and midcap counters attracting buying interest while the rest are either trading in a range or witnessing pressure. We feel it’s prudent to restrict positions and focus on overnight risk management.

Views by: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

3:53 PM

COMMENT :: 'Domestic markets can behave cautious in the short to medium-term'

As the domestic market has started to trade around the all-time high levels it is trending indecisively following the recent geopolitical tensions and weak performance by global counterparts. Although domestic macroeconomic indicators and FII inflows are favourable, given the high valuations, domestic markets can behave cautious in the short to medium-term. Rest of the other EMs look more attractive when the global market is attempting to bounce back after a long period of consolidation.

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

3:50 PM