Sensex ends above 35000 for first time ever; Nifty at new closing high

All that happened in the market today

3:50 PM

Market rundown by Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services 

 

"After an anguished start market turned pace to new highs as improvement in sentiment due to government’s reassessment to cut down additional borrowings for the current fiscal raised its fiscal prudence. Additionally, outperformance of PSU banks on account of underlying growth story and value buying in pharma & IT stocks gave traction to the market."

3:45 PM

Nifty Bank ends at record high

3:43 PM

PSU banks gain: Nifty PSU Bank index up 4%

3:40 PM

Nifty IT extends gains as rupee weakness continues

3:38 PM

Sectoral Trend

3:36 PM

Sensex top gainers and losers

3:34 PM

Markets at Close

 

Benchmark indices ended at record highs on Wednesday, as IT stocks such as Infosys and private lenders such as ICICI Bank rallied amid broader value buying in the market.

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,081, up 310 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,788, up 88 points

3:20 PM

Jubilant Life Sciences zooms 15% on strong Q3 results

 

Jubilant Life Sciences hit a record high of Rs 931, up 15% on BSE in intra-day trade, after the pharmaceutical company reported a strong 78% year on year(y-o-y) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 2.13 billion for December 2017 quarter (Q3FY18). The company had profit of Rs 1.18 billion in the same quarter last fiscal.

Consolidated revenue grew 42% at Rs 20.68 billion against Rs 14.91 billion in the corresponding quarter of previous year. Read more

3:10 PM

Adani Group shares trade higher ahead of Q3 results

 

Shares of Adani Group companies – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises – were trading higher by up to 5% ahead of October-December quarter (Q3FY18).

 

Adani Transmission, the largest gainer among the pack, was up 5% to Rs 235 on BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday. The company engaged in electric utilities business is schedule to announce its Q3FY18 results today. Read more

3:00 PM

Investing in mutual funds? More cuts in expense ratio may not help you

 

Retail investors, while investing in mutual funds, should concentrate on three things: 1) Is the scheme they are investing in a long-term performer? That is, has the scheme been consistent over one bear and one bull cycle, at least? 2) What is the mandate for the scheme and does it suit your risk profile? For example, someone may want to sell you a sector fund that is performing well. But if you are investing for the first time, there is no point in buying such schemes because the fortunes of a sector fund can change much faster than that of a well-diversified scheme. 3) Cost of the scheme. Read more

2:42 PM

Broader Markets

Broader markets in line with the benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices up 0.4% and 0.2%

2:36 PM

Sensex hits 35,000 for the first time ever

2:33 PM

Reliance Nippon AMC: Why equity AUM growth is crucial for the company

 

The life insurance stocks, though not many in number, were considered the best option for investors to tap India’s booming equity market, thanks to unit-linked insurance policy products or Ulips. This changed to some extent with the listing of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management or RNLAM last year in November.

 

The public issue was well-received by investors and they have nothing to compliant considering the post-listing gains of 25 per cent, over the initial public offering price. Read more

2:15 PM

How bitcoin frenzy has helped crypto hedge funds reap 1,100% gains in 2017

 

The nine cryptocurrency hedge funds tracked by Eurekahedge Pte soared 1,167% as a group in 2017, according to preliminary figures from the data provider, which doesn’t disclose details such as assets under management or individual returns. While that trailed the 1,403% gain in bitcoin, it comfortably trounced the 8% return by hedge funds globally. Click here for full article

2:00 PM

Jhunjhunwala, Damani offer to match all competing bids for Binani Cements

 

Mumbai’s billionaire stock brokers, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Ramesh Damani have made aggressive bids for Binani Cements as both see long-term prospects in the company which owns and operates 11 mtpa of cement capacity in India. The duo have offered to match any competing bid for the cement company which once featured Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador.

 

Jhunjhunwala-owned Rare Enterprises has a significant equity stake in many companies including Titan (around 9 per cent), Aurobindo (appox 2 per cent), Delta (18%), Escorts (9.16 %). Jhunjhunwala is also among the bidders for Star Health & Allied Insurance which is valued at $1 billion. Read more

1:45 PM

Govt to borrow Rs 200 billion more in FY18, says Subhash Garg

 

The government will reduce its additional borrowing to Rs 200 billion from the bond markets in the financial year 2017-18, from Rs 500 billion announced last month, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg said.

 

This is primarily because the Reserve Bank of India will pay a higher-than-anticipated surplus to the Centre, and the dividend target from state-owned companies will also be met, said senior government sources. Read more

1:31 PM

PSU banks in focus; PNB, Bank of Baroda up 3%

 

Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) bank were in focus, recovering by up to 6% from their early morning lows on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

 

Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda and Syndicate Bank were up 3% each, while State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank and Allahabad Bank from the Nifty PSU Bank index up in the range of 1% to 2% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Read more

1:19 PM

Scales tilt in favour of blue-chip stocks; analysts expect 8% rise in 2018

 

Broader markets have attracted many investors in the last few years, thanks to the stellar returns given by some of the stocks in the universe. However, 2018 could be the year of blue-chip stocks if brokerage estimates were to go by. Analysts are predicting an average 8% upside for the Sensex stocks against 3-4% growth for the BSE mid- and Small-cap indices.

 

Broader market indices have outperformed Sensex for the last four years thanks to a surge in portfolio flows chasing alpha stocks. However, scales have tilted in favour of large-cap stocks in the last two months as brokerages have upped the target prices of the big companies amid recovery in earnings and macro-economy. On the other hand, the target prices of the mid- and small-cap companies have largely remained little changed. Read more

1:00 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	34,941.98		0.49%
Nifty 50	10,748.45		0.45%
S&P BSE 200	4,755.72		0.34%
Nifty 500	9,642.60		0.31%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,832.90		0.11%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,602.09		-0.00%

12:53 PM

Bitcoin's slump steeper than other smaller cryptos

 

The search for the "other Bitcoin" is hurting the real thing.

 

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has sputtered out the gate this year and fell as much as 20 per cent to about $11,200 Tuesday, the lowest since December. But while regulatory concerns have turned most major crypto markets into a sea of red this month, smaller cryptos have rallied.

 

Bitcoin’s underperformance may be due in part to doubt that the currency can continue delivering the same 1,400 per cent returns it did last year, spurring traders to look for smaller digital assets that promise more upside. READ MORE

12:33 PM

Sensex top gainers and losers

12:16 PM

Trigyn Technologies extends rally on contract win from ARIPO

 

Trigyn Technologies hits a 52-week high of Rs 166, up 7%, extending its Tuesday’s 9% surge on BSE, after the company said that it awarded a multiyear technical support contract by African Regional lntellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Harare, Zimbabwe.

 

“The contract is to provide technical support for ARIPO's intellectual property (lP) software known as "POLite+". This award facilitates the continued expansion of Trigyn's intellectual property management business and Trigyn's substantial presence in the African continent,” Trigyn Technologies said in a press release. Read more

12:02 PM

Sectoral Trend

11:45 AM

After rising 71% in Dec, five reasons why gold imports will halve in Jan

 

After a sharp rise in gold imports in the December, inward shipments of the precious metal are expected to halve in January. According to data from the ministry of commerce released on Monday (yesterday), gold imports in December 2017 were up 71 per cent to $3.39 billion. In tonnage terms this is 81 tonnes from 30 tonnes in December 2016.

 

However, a source tracking imports say, “In January, the import figure is expected to fall sharply and may halve from December.” Based on his analysis and talks with market players, there could be five reasons why January imports could be lower. Click here for full story

11:30 AM

ICICI Lombard surges over 10% in two days post Q3 results

 

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company surged 7% to Rs 872, extending its previous day’s 3.8% gain on BSE, after the company reported 42.8% jump in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 3.22 billion in December 2017 quarter (Q3FY18). A subsidiary of ICICI Bank had PBT of Rs 2.25 billion in the same quarter last fiscal.

 

The net profit of the company during the quarter under review grew 5.20% at Rs 2.3 billion against Rs 2 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Read more

11:15 AM

MCX hits 52-week low on disappointing Q3 results

 

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) hit a 52-week low of Rs 846, down 6% on BSE in intra-day trade after the company reported 45% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 188 million in December 2017 quarter (Q3FY18). It had a profit of Rs 340 million in the same quarter last fiscal.

 

For Q3FY18, MCX's total income decreased by 23% to Rs 765 million from Rs 999 million over the previous quarter. While the operating revenue decreased by to Rs 610 million, the other income comprising primarily of treasury revenue halved to Rs 155 million on account of steep rise in bond yields, impacting the investment income. Read more

11:00 AM

Market check

S&P BSE Sensex	34,894.55		0.36%
Nifty 50	10,730.95		0.28%
S&P BSE 200	4,747.30		0.16%
Nifty 500	9,619.15		0.07%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,783.52		-0.17%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,504.68		-0.50%

10:58 AM

Ashok Leyland finds growth triggers in the rising demand for M&HCVs

 

Strong volume growth in recent months and improvement in product mix has led analysts to upgrade their volume, revenue and margin estimates for Ashok Leyland. The company, which is the only pure-play listed player with an exposure to the high-growth medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment, should see higher gains given the shift in customer preference towards the more profitable higher-tonnage CVs.

 

Given this backdrop, investors with a two-year horizon can consider adding the stock, which currently trades at 18 times its FY19 estimates. Read more

10:40 AM

IT shares extend gain: TCS hits new high, Infosys at fresh 52-week high

 

Shares of information technology (IT) companies continued their upward movement with Nifty IT index hit fresh 52-week high in otherwise subdued market.

 

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were up in the range of 1% to 2% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday. Read more

10:25 AM

Sebi to vet Tata Sons bid to go private, evaluate minority interest

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking at whether Tata Sons’ plan of becoming a private limited company from a public one would impact shareholders, especially minority shareholders of listed Tata entities that own shares in Tata Sons.

 

If the company were to become a private one there would be restrictions on these listed firms to sell or transfer their stake to any entity. Read more