Sensex rises for 3rd straight day; ends 221 pts up; Voda Idea plunges 21%

Closing Bell

The tussle between bulls and bears was finally won by the former camp as equity markets ended the day in the positive territory for a third straight day. After oscillating 408 points through the day, the BSE Sensex index ended at 60,617 level, up 221 points or 0.37 per cent.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 shut shop at 18,056 levels, up 52.45 points or 0.29 per cent. 

"Domestic benchmark indices showcased a flattish trend with positive bias as the market weighed the expectations of a strong quarter amid concerns over rising cases, supply issue and inflationary pressure. Global market was on the edge as Fed meeting minutes hinted at rate hikes, elevated US inflation and the awaited release of US CPI inflation data. Domestic inflation levels are also likely to be significant due to unfavourable base effect though food prices have declined during December," highlighted Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

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Private mortgage lender HDFC was the top contributor towards the Sensex's total gains today, followed by RIL, HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, Tech M, and HDFC Bank. All these counters were up between 1 per cent anf 4.4 per cent.

On the downside, Tata Steel (down 3.4 per cent), Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, ITC, and Dr Reddy's were the top laggards. 

The broader markets were quiet today with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ending little changed.

AU Small Finance Bank, Trent, Gujarat Gas, Emami Paper Mills, Titagarh Wagon, and Texmaco Rail were the top gainers from the space. Gabriel India, Omaxe, Poonawalla Fincorp, Vodafone Idea, and Jindal Steel, on the other hand, were the biggest losers.

Among the lot, the shares of Vodafone Idea slumped 22.5 per cent to Rs 11.5 on the BSE in today's intraday trade after the company's board approved conversion of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum liabilities into equity. With today's fall, the stock of the telecom services provider has corrected 31.5 per cent from its 52-week high level of Rs 16.79 touched on December 10, 2021. READ MORE

EARNINGS PREVIEW: Here's what to expect from Q3 results of Infosys, TCS and Wipro

Separately, the shares of AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) hit a 10-week high of Rs 1,308, up 5.9 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade. The stock of the private sector lender was trading at its highest level since October 28, 2021. It had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,389 on August 24, 2021. READ MORE

Overall, 1,941 stocks advanced on the BSE while 1,505 declined and 67 ended flat. Among these, 615 stocks hit their respective upper circuits while just 7 hit lower circuits. 

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Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The BSE Sensex touched a high of 60,649, and was up 246 points at 60,642. The NSE Nifty had gained 63 points at 18,066.

HCL Technologies continues to remain the top gainer, up over 4 per cent at Rs 1,343. TCS gained a per cent, while Tech Mahindra and Infosys were up around 0.6 per cent each.

Private home loan lender, HDFC had advanced 1.5 per cent. Reliance, Larsen & Toubro and SBI were the other notable gainers.

On the other hand, Tata Steel was the major loser, the stock shed 2.7 per cent at Rs 1,137. Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank were the other notable losers.

The broader markets had trimmed gains. The BSE Midcap index was up 0.1 per cent, while the Smallcap index had added 0.5 per cent.

As many as 601 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades on Tuesday, while mere four stocks dropped to a new 52-week low.



Meanwhile, the European markets have started trade on a firm note. The FTSE 100 was up 0.5 per cent, while the DAX 30 and CAC 40 had gained 0.9 per cent each. The US futures - Dow, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 0.1 per cent each.
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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices continued to edge higher in mid-noon deals backed by solid gains in select index heavyweights and IT stocks.

The BSE Sensex touched a high of 60,649, and was up 246 points at 60,642. The NSE Nifty had gained 63 points at 18,066.

Among IT shares, HCL Technologies was up 3.8 per cent. Infosys and Tech Mahindra were the other notable gainers, up 0.5 per cent each. Heavyweights HDFC and Reliance supported the up move with gains of 1.5 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.



The broader markets were also holding notable gains, with the BSE Midcap and the Smallcap indices up 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. The overall breadth was fairly positive, with more than 2,100 advancing shares as against 1,260-odd declining stocks on the BSE.

Greaves Cotton was one of the biggest gainer for the second straight trading session, the stock had zoomed nearly 16 per cent in trades on Tuesday. RHI Magnestia, Prism Johnson, JP Power, Just Dial, Indostar Capital, Hinduja Global Solutions, GMDC, Nilkamal, BASF, Kolte Patil Developers, Camlin Fine Sciences, Affle India, Dhunseri Investements, Dhunseri Tea, Dynacons Systems, Coffee Day, Bhakti Gems, Vaswani Industries, Lasa Supergerices and Welspun Investments were the other major gainers.

Vodafone Idea was the major loser, down over 16 per cent in the broader market. Gabriel, Hindustan Construction, SAIL, Hikal, Filatex India, Jain Irrigation, Tata Steel Long Products, Renuka Sugars, Oriental Trimex, Indo Tech Transformers, CMI, Manaksia Steel, Shree Rama Multi Tech, Om Infra, Rama Steel, Sintex Plastics, Anand Rayons and SBC Exports were the other significant losers.

As many as 712 stocks were locked at the respective upper limits, while 148 stocks had hit their lower circuits in trade so far.
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Markets at 12:15 PM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were steady in noon trade holding mild gains. The BSE Sensex was up 123 points at 60,519, while the NSE Nifty was 29 points higher at 18,033. The two were higher by up to 0.2 per cent. 

Heavyweight RIL and other select counters such as HDFC, HCL Tech, Infosys, Sun Pharma were the top gainers and were supporting the indices' gains. On the Nifty, Divis Labs, NTPC and Grasim were the additional gainers. 

Among sectors, realty and IT were indices were the top gainers on the NSE. The two were up 1.8 and 0.8 per cent higher, respectively. The bank index, which was sharply low early in the day, also recouped some losses and was now trading flat.  

That apart, shares of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) moved higher by 5 per cent to Rs 2,985.70 on the BSE as the company announced buyback plan after an over 25 per cent correction in its stock price from record high level touched last week. READ MORE.          

BS Special: Vodafone Idea, Paytm: Trading strategies for buzzing stocks of the day

Asian markets

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed across the board on Tuesday as investors remained concerned about inflation as well as likely policy tightening from central banks such as the Federal Reserve.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.85 per cent, while the Topix index was down 0.55 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi retraced losses and traded higher by 0.15 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index reversed earlier losses and rose 0.37 per cent. 

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Markets at 11 AM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices inched up as they recovered from some early morning volatility. The BSE Sensex was up 154 points at 60,550, while the NSE Nifty was 18,036, higher by 33 points. 

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap were also higher by 0.2 and 0.5 pe cent, respectively. 

The recovery was led by hevyweights RIL (up 1 per cent), HDFC (up 1.6 per cent) and IT majors such as HCL Tech and Infosys. 

Realty stocks were trading firmly higher with the Nifty Realty index up over 1 per cent. IT and Pharma were also strong. 

Among stocks, shares of JBM Auto were locked at the 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 1,565.20, hitting a new high on the BSE in an otherwise range-bound market. The stock of automotive company was trading higher for the fourth straight day, surging 27 per cent during the period.READ MORE.
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Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were volatile in early morning trade after opening on a slighlty positive note. The BSE Sensex was 55 points lower at 60,340, and the NSE Nifty was at 17,983, down 20 points. The two indices were 0.12 per cent lower.

The broader market indices--BSE MidCap and SmallCap--too were muted. The former was in the red zone, while the latter was marginally higher by 0.1 per cent. 

Among Sensex-30 shares, Tata Steel was the top loser, down over 2 per cent, followed by Bajaj twins, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, and ICICI Bank. On the Nifty, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Coal India, BPCL and IOC were the additonal top losers.

Sectorally, banks and metals were the weakest, while, IT and Pharma indices on the NSE were seen bucking the overall weak market trend. 

Tata Steel & JSW Steel were the top laggards, after brokerage Jefferies reportedly downgraded these stocks citing lower optimism on Indian metals this year.

Moreover, telecom operator Vodafone Idea slumped 19 per cent to Rs 12.05 on the BSE after the company’s board approved conversion of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum liabilities into equity. READ MORE.
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Opening Bell

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices started on a positive note on Monday extending the previous session's strong rally. The BSE Sensex was up over 174 points at 60,570, and the NSE Nifty was at 18,047, higher by 44 points. 

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in the green zone and were up 0.2 and 0.6 per cent, respectively. 

Among the Sensex-30 constituents, HDFC, NTPC, Ultratech Cement,PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, and Dr Reddy's were the top gainers, up between 0.4-1.6 per cent. On the Nifty, Grasim, Tata Consumer, Shree Cement were the additional gainers. 

Meanwhile, Tata steel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, M&M, Kotak Bank, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, and Axis Bank were the top losers, down 0.3-4 per cent on the BSE. 
 

All sectoral indices were largely with Nifty Metals down over 1 per cent. Banks and Auto indices were also in the red zone. Pharma and IT, on the othe hand, were leading gains. 

Among stocks, shares of Vodafone Idea crashed 15 per cent on BSE after the company said that the government will own almost 36 per cent in the wireless phone operator after its board approved conversion of dues into equity. This will result in dilution for all the existing shareholders of the company, including the founders, it said. 

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Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were subdued in the pre-open trade. The BSE Sensex was down 107 points at 60,288, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,967, lower by 36 points. 
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LIVE market updates: Amid weak global cues, the benchmark indices are likely to start on a negative note on Tuesday a day after a strong rally in the preceding session. At 8:10 am, the SGX Nifty futures quoted 18,003 level, 51 points lower than Nifty's spot close on Monday. 

On Monday, the Nifty reclaimed its 18,000-mark for the first time since November 15, 2021. The Sensex and the Nifty ended over 1 per cent higher. 

Among individual shares, Delta Corp, Ganesh Housing, Hathway Bhawani are likely to be in focus as these companies announce their December quarter results today.

Indo Count Industries may also be in the limelight as rating agency ICRA has upgraded its credit rating for the company's long term bank facilities and reaffirmed credit rating for the short term bank facilities.
 

Global cues

The US markets recouped most of their losses in intraday trade on Monday. At close, Dow Jones was down 0.5 per cent, and the S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent. Nasdaq, however, ended flat, recovering nearly 3 per cent from the day’s low. Earlier in the day, stocks fell as the 10-year Treasury yield rose to a two-year high at 1.8 per cent, with bets placed for as early as March rate hike.

Meanwhile, oil prices dipped in trade on Monday. Brent Crude slipped 1.1 per cent to $80.87 a barrel, while WTI Crude was down 0.9 per cent at $78.23 a barrel.

On Tuesday morning major markets in Asia exhibited a negative trend. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.8 per cent. Hang Seng and Taiwan declined 0.4 per cent each, while Straits Times and Kospi were down 0.1 per cent each. The Shanghai Composite was flat