Market Wrap, Nov 4: Bull run continues; Sensex up 137 points at record high

Headlines of the day:

>> Bull run continues, Market rises for seventh straight day; 

>> Sensex adds 137 pts to end at record closing peak; 

>> HDFC consolidated net profit jumps 80% YoY in Q2; &

>> Billionaire Ajay Piramal says he will step down from Shriram Capital

Extending their gaining streak into the seventh session in a row, the benchmark indices settled with nearly half a per cent gains on Monday. Encouraging September quarter results, along with optimism over US-China trade deal aided bulls to stay in the driver's seat.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 137 points or 0.34 per cent to end at a record closing high 40,301.96, with Infosys (up over 3 per cent) being the top gainer and Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.50 per cent) the worst performer. During the day, the index hit a fresh high of 40,483 levels. 

On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index ended at 11,945, up 54.55 points or 0.46 per cent. 

Sectorally, media stocks tumbled the most on the NSE, followed by auto and FMCG counters. The Nifty Media index slipped over 3 per cent to 1,860.55 levels. On the contrary, metal stocks advanced the most. The Nifty Metal index rallied nearly 3 per cent to 2,634.60. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended flat at 14,892, up just 1.57 points or 0.01 per cent. The S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 13,631, up 30 points or 0.22 per cent.

Market breadth was in favour of advances as out of 2,755 companies traded on the BSE, 1,430 advanced and 1,152 declined while 173 remained unchanged. 

 

Stocks that made news today:

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) ended nearly 5 per cent lower at Rs 294.80 apiece on the NSE after news reports said the company has denied reports about transfer of promoter shares to escrow accounts. Dish TV slipped around 11 per cent to Rs 14.45. 

Infosys ended over 3 per cent higher at Rs 709 after the company said on Monday it received no evidence to support the allegations in a whistleblower letter from last month.

HDFC ended over 2 per cent higher at Rs 2,181 after it reported a standalone net profit of Rs 3,961 crore, up 60.5 per cent YoY, for the quarter ended September 2019 (Q2FY20) on the back of stake sale from Gruh Finance.  On a consolidated basis, the HFC reported a profit of Rs 10,388 crore, up 80.38 per cent YoY from Rs 5,759.19 crore.

In the global markets, Asian shares surged on Monday, with a broad regional gauge hitting more than 14-week highs, as growing optimism over US-China trade talks and upbeat US job data boosted global investors’ appetite for riskier assets. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 1.08 per cent, touching its highest level since July 24.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.36 per cent, and Seoul's Kospi added 1.43 per cent. In mainland China, blue chips were up 0.72 per cent, and Australian shares were 0.27 per cent higher. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday. 

In Europe, too, shares touched their highest level in nearly two years. 

In commodities, oil prices eased as concerns over economic data offset trade deal optimism. Brent crude futures for January fell 16 cents to $61.53 a barrel, while December US crude futures was at $56.04 a barrel, down 16 cents.