Market Wrap, May 16: Sensex up 278 points, Nifty over 11,250

Investors went on a buying spree in the last hour thus pulling benchmark indices, which remained range-bound for most part of the day, into the green with over 200 points and 100 points gain for Sensex and Nifty, respectively.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 279 points to close at 37,393, with Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Infosys, Vedanta, and ONGC raking in the highest gains. Out of the 30 BSE constituents, 21 ended in the green.

The broader Nfity50 index added 100 points to reclaim psychological 11,250 level and end the day at 11,257. Market breadth, however, remained in favour of sellers. About 898 stocks declined and 841 advanced on the NSE.

Among sectoral indices, only one index ended the day in red, with Nifty Media, Nifty Metal, and Nifty Realty rising 2.26 per cent, 1.17 per cent, and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 37 points, or 0.27 per cent, to finish the day at 14,155, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index climbed 35 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 13,817.

BUZZING STOCKS

Bajaj Finance shares rose 3.64 per cent at Rs 3,111.80 on the BSE after reporting its January-March quarter earnings (Q4FY19) today. 

Lupin shares dipped 6 per cent to Rs 736 on Thursday before making a recovery to end the day 0.22 per cent lower at Rs 781.35, on the BSE, after the drug company reported lower-than-expected net profit of Rs 290 crore for March quarter (Q4FY19). Analysts, on an average, had expected profit of Rs 455 crore for the quarter. 

Tata Chemicals (TCL) shares surged 8.38 per cent higher at Rs 603.45 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday after the company announced demerger of its consumer products business into other group firm Tata Global Beverages (TGBL).