Market wrap: 6% rally in RIL stock powers gains for Sensex and Nifty

Top headlines

• Sensex soars 454 pts; slips 2% during Nov F&O series

• RIL zooms 6% as board approves restructuring plan

• Bajaj Auto's m-cap falls below Rs 1-trillion mark

• India Inc to show significant EBITDA growth in next 12-18 months, says Moody's

Equity markets ended the last day of the November F&O series on a strong note, courtesy a solid 6 per cent rally in the Reliance Industries stock. The BSE Sensex zoomed 454 points, or 0.78 per cent, to end at 58,795. Over 90 per cent of this gain was contributed by RIL.

The NSE Nifty, meanwhile, ended 121 points higher at 17,536. During the monthly derivatives series, however, both benchmarks slipped around 2 per cent each.

The shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries ended as the top gainer on the benchmark indices today after the company's board approved a restructuring scheme to transfer gasification undertaking into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Divis Labs, ITC, Infosys, Tata Consumer Products, and Tech Mahindra were some of the other top gainers on the Nifty today, all up in the range of 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

 

The top laggards were Maruti Suzuki, Britannia Industries, IndusInd Bank, Indian Oil Corporation, and HUL. These stocks fell by up to 1 per cent on the 50-share index.

The MidCap and SmallCap indices also rose in tandem with the benchmarks today, rising 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, on the BSE.

Sectorally, the Nifty Realty index gained 2 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index was down 0.5 per cent.

And before we close, here are some of the top developments of the day:

• Ahead of Bajaj Auto's removal from the BSE Sensex, the company's shares hit their lowest level since December 28, 2020, in intra-day trade today. During the past month, Bajaj Auto has underperformed the market, falling 10 per cent during the period. This has brought the company's market cap below Rs 1 trillion.

• Separately, after Paytm shares plunged over 41% in 2 days, anchor investors BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reportedly bought more on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Meanwhile, global agency Moody's expects Indian companies to show significant growth in EBITDA over the next 12-18 months on the back of a strong consumer demand and high commodity prices.

• Lastly, Credit Suisse expects double-digit growth in credit off-take during the second half of the current financial year on the back of improving demand and banks’ risk appetite. The brokerage is bullish on ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and SBI.