Sensex gyrates 729 pts, ends 143 pts up; India Cements gains 15%, OIL 8%

Closing Bell

Domestic indices ended marginally higher on Friday amid consolidatory mood and mixed global cues. 

After starting gap-up, the BSE Sensex index marched ahead to hit a high of 60,130-mark intra-day. However, selling in select heavyweights like Bajaj twins, M&M, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, and L&T in the second half of the session erased gains. The index eventually ended at 59,745 level, up 143 points or 0.24 per cent.

It's NSE counterpart, Nifty50, meanwhile, closed at 17,813, up 67 points or 0.38 per cent. 

Check here: Market snapshot

Grasim, ONGC, Hindalco, HDFC Life, Shree Cement, Tata Consumer Products, and Asian Paints were the top Nifty gainers today.

Among large-caps, shares of Titan Company ended 1 per cent lower today after hitting a record high of Rs 2,687 apiece on the BSE earlier today.  "The company has witnessed a buoyancy in jewellery demand, driven by festive purchases in October and November which helped the division achieve a 37 per cent growth for the quarter, it said in an update for Q3FY22. 

The broader markets, however, outperformed the benchmarks for a second straight day with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ending around 0.5 per cent higher each. 

Among individual stocks, the shares of Gokaldas Exports were locked at the 10 per cent upper circuit, at Rs 362.75, after hitting an over 15-year high  on the BSE. The stock of the textiles company hit its highest level since May, 2006, and was close to its all-time high of Rs 405, touched on March 16, 2006.

On the flipside, the shares of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) were locked at the 20 per cent lower circuit at Rs 2,927.80 on the BSE on profit booking after the company announced 1:1 bonus share and an interim dividend of Rs 150 per share.

Over the past one month, though, share prices of 87 companies, mostly non-index, have rallied over 100 per cent in the past one month on the BSE. Of these, the market price of 20 companies have zoomed between 200 per cent and 233 per cent. During the period, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 3.7 per cent, while the S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap index gained 1.5 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively. READ MORE

Sectorally, the Nifty Auto and Pharma indices were the only losers, down up to 0.4 per cent. On the contrary, the Nifty FMCG and the Bank indices were the top gainers (up 0.67 per cent each), followed by the Nifty Metal (up 0.5 per cent).  

Global markets at a glance

Asia: Nikkei (-0.03 per cent); Kospi (+1.2 per cent); ASX200 (+1.3 per cent); Hang Seng (+1.8 per cent)

Europe: Pan-European Stoxx 600 (-0.4 per cent); CAC 40 and DAX (-0.25 per cent);

US Futures: Dow Jones (+0.11 per cent); S&P500 (+0.01 per cent); Nasdaq Composite (-0.22 per cent)

=======================================================================

Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices continue to hover around the previous day's close, as investors seemed wary of taking fresh positions ahead of the weekend given the unpredictable news flow around Omicron variant.

The BSE Sensex was up 28 points at 59,630, and NSE Nifty was up 29 points at 17,775.

Asian Paints continues to remain one of the top performers of the day so far, up 1.5 per cent. TCS, Wipro, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were up around a per cent each.

On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance had declined around 1.5 per cent each. HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Tata Steel were down around a per cent each.

The broader indices also remained steady, both Midcap and Smallcap were up 0.3 per cent each. Shares of Gokaldas Exports were locked at the 10 per cent upper circuit at Rs 362.75, and trading at 15-year high on strong outlook. In the past one month, the stock has surged 36 per cent. READ MORE

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Oil & Gas index was up 0.8 per cent. The Energy and FMCG indices were up 0.6 per cent each, while the Bankex and IT index added 0.3 per cent each. Wheras, the Capital Goods index slipped 0.9 per cent. Auto, Consumer Durables and Pharma indices were the other notable losers.

Meanwhile, the European markets have started traded on a tepid note. The FTSE 100 and CAC 40 were down 0.1 per cent each, while the DAX 30 had declined 0.3 per cent.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices had erased gains in the mid-noon deals on the back of weakness in select financial shares, Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro.

The BSE Sensex, which, touched a high of 60,130, was up eight points at 59,610, and its counterpart NSE Nifty had added 26 points to 17,772.



The broader indices, however, continued to hold marginal gains. The BSE Midcap was up 0.4 per cent and the Smallcap index had added 0.2 per cent. The overall breadth too was fairly positive, with more than 2,000 advancing shares on the BSE versus 1,330-odd declining stocks.

Off late, the recent market rally had helped the share price of 87 companies more-than-double in just a month's time. Of these, the market price of 20 companies had zoomed between 200 per cent and 233 per cent. During the same period, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 3.7 per cent, while the S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap index had gained 1.5 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively. READ MORE

Today in the broader markets, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and KPIT Technologies had zoomed nearly 14 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. Redington India, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Bodal Chemicals, Oil India, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Pilani Investment, JP Power, Greenlam Industries, Jamna Auto, Poonawala Fincorp, Suzlon, Vardhman Holdings, Welspun Investments, Biofil Chemicals, 20 Microns, Garment Mantra, Alankit, Aym Syntex, Salzer and Maximus International were the other significant gainers.

On the other hand, Hinduja Global Solutions remained locked at the 20 per cent lower circuit depsite 1:1 bonus issue. GMR Infra, Renuka Sugars, SH Kelkar, Neuland Labs, Angel One, GM Breweries, Zee Learn, KBC Global, Mirza International, Zenith Exports, Deep Polymers, Dharani Sugars, Anand Rayons, GTL, Magadh Sugar, Cinevista, Madras Fertilisers and Gulf Petroleums were the other major losers.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at 12 noon

LIVE market updates: The headline indices were sharply off their respective day's highs and were up 0.2 per cent. The BSE Sensex was up 130 points at 59,732, and the NSE Nifty was 50 points higher at 17,797. 

The broader markets were firm and were seen outperforming the benchmarks. The BSE MidCap index was 0.5 per cent higher, while the SmallCap index was 0.3 per cent up. 

Auto and Realty indices were trading in red, down 0.4 and 0.02 per cent on the NSE. The telecom index on the BSE was also lower by 0.3 per cent. 

Among stocks, shares of Nitin Spinners hit a record high of Rs 303, up 4 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade. The stock has gained 10 per cent in the last two trading sessions on expectation of strong earnings. READ MORE.

Asian markets

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday trade following heavy losses for some regional markets in the previous trading day, as investors continue to assess the impact of a likely faster-than-expected policy tightening by the the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan shed earlier gains and declined 0.13 per cent, adding to losses after a nearly 3 per cent drop on Thursday. The Topix index also fell into negative territory as it declined 0.19 per cent.

Elsewhere, mainland Chinese stocks were mixed as the Shanghai composite climbed 0.35 per cent, while the Shenzhen component shed 0.2 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.15 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.97 per cent.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at 11 AM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were off day's highs but held onto gains in morning trade. The BSE Sensex was up 200 points at 59,860 and the NSE Nifty was 76 points higher at 17,822. 

There was broad-based buying in the market. The broader markets were also positive with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices trading 0.6 per cent higher each. Among midcaps, Oil India, Jubikant Food, Page Ind, IRCTC, Godrej Ind, JSW Energy, AU Small Finance Bank, Whilrpool and Voltas were the top gainers, up between 2-9 per cent. 

On the Sensex, IT and banks were leading gains. Pharma stocks Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma were down 0.1 per cent. Auto majors M&M and Maruti were also in the red. The top losers were Bajaj twins, HDFC, Tata Steel and L&T.

Sectorally, metal, pharma and auto indices were in the red, trading up to 0.3 per cent lower. 

Pharma stocks are pressured since opening as the ICMR's cautionary statement against Molnupiravir could possibly hit the companies sales of the pill. READ HERE TO KNOW MORE. 

Further, among stocks, shares of KPIT Technologies hit a new high of Rs 749, surging 19 per cent on the BSE on the back of heavy volumes. In the past 14 trading days, the stock of the information technology (IT) consulting & services company has zoomed 64 per cent on strong outlook. READ MORE.

Meanwhile, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (TTML), the Tata Group telecom services company, has entered the list of top-100 most valued companies in terms of market captialisation in the country on the back of a strong rally. The stock hit a fresh record high at Rs 264 and has rallied a whopping 567 per cent in the last three months. READ MORE.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were seen extending opening gains, rallying up to 0.8 per cent. The BSE Sensex was 490 points up at 60,100 and the NSE Nifty was at 17,893, higher by 147 points.

The indices were steady with gains in heavyweight RIL (up 1.4 per cent) and banking counters such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, up 1.8 and 1.3 per cent, respectively, on the BSE. 

Reliance was seen holding strong gains on its Reliance Retail buying a 25.8 per cent stake in Dunzo, a leading quick commerce player, for $200 million as the conglomerate looks to expand in the online grocery delivery space.

IT majors Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technology and TCS were also trading higher after two days of losses.

Sector wise, too, the Nifty IT index was seen putting recovery from opening and was up 0.6 per cent. All indices were in green. Top gainers were banks, realty and oil & gas stocks on the NSE. 

Among stocks, shares of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) were locked at the 20 per cent lower circuit at Rs 2,927.80 on the BSE on profit booking after the company announced 1:1 bonus share and an interim dividend of Rs 150 per share. READ MORE.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Opening Bell

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices started on a fairly positive note a day after heavy sell-off on weak global cues. 

The BSE Sensex was at 59,869, up 267 points, while the Nifty50 was 79 points higher at 17,825. The two indices were 0.46 per cent up, as compared to yesterday's over 1 per cent fall.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in green and were up 0.5 and 0.6 per cent, respectively. 

Among the Sensex-30 constituents, Titan, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, RIL and PowerGrid were the top gainers, up between 0.9-2.2 per cent. On the Nifty, ONGC, Grasim, BPCL, Coal India and IOC were the additonal gainers.

Sectorally, all indices on the NSE were in the green except pharma (down 0.45 per cent). IT, which was up only 0.02 per cent was also muted. Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank index was the top gainer, up over a per cent. 

Notably, among stocks, Titan was trading 2.5 per cent higher after the company on Thursday, in its quarterly update, said that it witnessed a strong demand across its consumer businesses and clocked 36 per cent revenue growth over the festive quarter in 2021. It also added 14 more stores taking its store count to 428.
 

Similarly, another jewellery player Kalyan Jewellers this morning in an update reported Q3 consolidated revenue growth of over 17 per cent. Gross margins improved sequentially for the Decemebr quarter, it said. The stock was up 3 per cent. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were slightly positive in the pre-open session on Friday. The BSE Sensex was 120 points up at 59,720, and the NSE Nifty was 68 points higher at 17,813. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

LIVE market updates: Given the mixed global cues, the key benchmark indices may have a muted start after a day of heavy losses on Thursday. At 8 AM, the SGX Nifty futures were at 17,839 level, which was 39 points higher than Nifty's spot close of the previous day. 

Investor sentiment turned jittery on Thursday following a huge sell-off across global markets as fears of a faster-than-expected hike in US interest rates weighed on the markets. 

Meanwhile, among stocks, Reliance may be in focus as its arm Reliance Retail has bought a 25.8 per cent stake in Dunzo, a leading quick commerce player, for $200 million as it looks to expand in the online grocery delivery space. 

Titan, too, may be eyed as the Tata-owned jewellery business company, in its quarterly update, has said that it witnessed a strong demand across its consumer businesses and clocked 36 per cent revenue growth over the festive quarter in 2021. It also added 14 more stores taking its store count to 428.

Global cues

The US markets ended a choppy session of trade with marginal losses as technology stocks skidded for the second straight day. The Dow Jones slipped 0.5 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.1 per cent each. Tonight, the markets may take cues from the US jobs data.

Globally, oil prices extended its rally amid unrest in OPEC+ oil producer Kazakhstan and supply outages in Libya. On Thursday, Brent Crude jumped 1.5 per cent to $81.99 a barrel, and WTI Crude gained 1.6 per cent at $79.46 a barrel.

This morning the major markets in Asia were largely holding gains. Kospi had rallied over a per cent. Nikkei and Hang Seng had advanced 0.5 per cent each, while Shanghai Composite and Straits Times moved 0.4 per cent higher, respectively. Taiwan, however, was down 0.2 per cent.