Market Wrap, Feb 25: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Equity benchmark indices remained parked near day's high for the better part of the day on Thursday, cooling off marginally only during the last hour of trade.  

Strong gains in Reliance Industries, TCS, Axis Bank, NTPC, and IndusInd Bank helped the headline S&P BSE Sensex to settle the F&O series for the month of February at 51,039 levels, up 258 points or 0.5 per cent. With a 4.8 per cent gain, NTPC remained the top performing stock on the Sensex today, followed by up to 4.4 per cent gains in ONGC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Power Grid.

On the downside, ICICI Bank, that dipped 2 per cent on profit booking, ended the session as the top laggard. Nestle India , L&T, Titan Company, HUL, UltraTech Cement, and HDFC were some of the other top losers.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index failed to reclaim the 15,100-mark on the closing basis and ended at 15,097 levels, up 115 points or 0.47 per cent.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 20,305 levels, up 1.4 per cent. The index hit a record high of 20,321 points in Thursday's intra-day trade and surpassed its previous high of 20,183 touched on January 15, 2018. With the rise in markets and having tasted success, most experts believe that the interest of retail investors in the markets, especially the small-caps is here to stay.

The S&P BSE MidCap index, on the other hand, settled at 20,334 levels, up 1 per cent.

During the February F&O series, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty50 index gained 8 per cent, underperforming the broader markets where the Nifty MidCap 100 and the Nifty SmallCap 100 jumped 11 per cent each.

Among individual sectors, metal counters staged a stellar show with the Nifty Metal index closing 4 per cent higher today. That apart, the Nifty Realty index closed with 1.7 per cent gains while the Nifty PSU Bank, Pharma, and Auto indices ended 1 per cent higher each.

As regards the derivatives series, the Nifty Metal, PSU Bank, and Bank indices advanced 20.5 per cent, 39 per cent, and 19 per cent, respectively while the Nifty Auto index gained 3 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty IT and FMCG indices slipped around 2 per cent each.

Coming to buzzing stocks of the day, shares of Nureca listed at Rs 635 apiece, a 58.74 per cent premium against the issue price of 400 per share. The shares closed at Rs 666 on the BSE, up 66.5 per cent against the issue price.

That apart, shares of Max Financial Services hit 10 per cent upper circuit and quoted at Rs 938.65 on the BSE, after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India gave its approval for the acquisition of up to 12 per cent stake in Max Life Insurance (Max Life) by Axis Bank and its subsidiaries Axis Capital and Axis Securities (Axis Entities). The shares settled around 4 per cent higher today.

Furthermore, shares of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers rallied up to 15 per cent at Rs 64.85, also its 52-week high, in the intra-day trade on Thursday after rating agency ICRA reaffirmed credit ratings of the company’s instruments and revised outlook to 'positive' from 'stable'.

And before we close, here are updates on key events of the day:

First, markets regulator Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi on Thursday acknowledged the systemic risk concerns raised by the RBI and Financial Stability Board over a disconnect between financial markets and the real economy, but said that this is a global phenomenon.

He also said the heavy fall in markets, followed by quick gains on the equity benchmarks since the onset of the pandemic is the sharpest V-shaped recovery in the last 30 years.

In another development, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said today that the Reserve Bank of India did not compromise on its balance sheet while providing liquidity to the bond market through asset purchases as the purchases were risk-free government bonds only.

Lastly, on the economic front, global rating agency Moody's said  today that India's weak fiscal position will remain a key credit challenge in 2021. Moreover, it said the prospects for fiscal consolidation remain weak, particularly given the government's mixed track record of implementing revenue-raising measures.