Sensex ends 142 points higher; metals zoom

Benchmark shares indices rebounded from their day's lows to finally gain for the seventh straight session led by metals and select IT majors.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 142 points at 29,462 and the 50-share Nifty gained 26 points to end at 8,895.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities after they bought equities worth Rs2,188 crore on Wednesday, as per the provisional stock exchange data.

BSE Metal index was the top gainer up 3.8% followed by Capital Goods, IT and Power indices. Bankex and FMCG indices were the top losers.

Metal stocks surged on the back of several metal majors such as Hindalco and Jindal Steel & Power winning coal blocks in the e-auction conducted by the government.

Hindalco Industries ended up 2.7% after it won the Gare Palma coal mine in Chhattisgarh by outbidding companies like BALCO, Sesa Sterlite, Ambuja Cements, which were also vying for the same block.

Jindal Steel and Power surged nearly 26% to Rs 195 on reports that the company has won Gare Palma IV/2 and IV/3 blocks in fierce bidding at the ongoing coal block e-auctions. According to reports, the company has won the bids at Rs 108/tonne for both the blocks which have a mining capacity of about 6 mtpa. Other bidders for the said coal blocks include Adani and GMR.

Among other metal shares, Sesa Sterlite jumped 7%, JSW Steel surged 6.5%, Hindustan Zinc rose 4.4% and Tata Steel ended up 2.3%.

IT stocks ended mixed in today’s session. Infosys gained 1.3% after it today announced a multi-year, multimillion dollar partnership with ABN AMRO, to provide IT services for the bank's operations. TCS rose 1.8% while Wipro ended down 1.7%.

Housing finance major, HDFC has gained around 1.6% while HDFC Bank recouped intra-day losses to end 0.7% higher. However, Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank ended down 0.5-1.6% down.

ITC ended 0.6% on profit taking after rallying over 5% in the past three days following the acquisition of the trademarks for 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' in India from Johnson & Johnson for an undisclosed amount.

Other Sensex losers include, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma among others.

Among other shares, Pipavav Defence came off its 52-week highs amid profit taking to end 2.5% higher on the back of heavy volumes.

“Out of the around 263 million shares pledged as security by the promoter- SKIL Infrastructure, JM Financial Products Limited and IFCI Limited have liquidated 1,20,00,000 and 50,000 (i.e. 1,20,50,000) equity shares of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited, respectively, in exercise of right under the facility agreement/loan agreement,” the company said in a BSE filing.

Shares of Baba Kalyani-promoted Kalyani Group ended higher by up to 20% on the bourses. According to media reports, Kalyani Group on Thursday announced a joint venture with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Israel to develop and manufacture a wide range of technology and systems.

BF Investments gained 20%, BF Utilities surged 7%, Kalyani Steels jumped 14% and Bharat Forge ended up 2% on the BSE.  

The broader markets ended flat with positive bias.

Market breadth ended weak with 1,507 losers and 1,308 gainers on the BSE.