Rangebound Sensex slips 91pts at close, Nifty holds 17,200;Pharma stks gain

The BSE Midcap and the Smallcap indices were up 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The overall breadth also was fairly positive, with 2,043 advanced shares v/s 1,334 declining stocks.

Closing Bell

The key benchmark indices exhibited a lacklustre movement amid subdued global cues before ending on a flat note. The BSE benchmark index had touched a low of 57,721 in opening deals, but soon recouped losses and touched a high of 58,097. The index thereafter moved in a thin 200-point range (57,800-58,000) for the rest of the day.

The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 91 points at 57,806. The NSE Nifty shut shop at 17,214, down 19 points.



The broader indices, however, finished in the positive zone. The BSE Midcap and the Smallcap indices were up 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

The overall breadth also was fairly positive. Out of 3,474 stocks traded on the BSE today, 2,043 advanced while 1,334 declined.

Market Dashboard: Snapshot of key movers and shakers in trade today

Sun Pharma was the major gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, and was up 2.5 per cent, after the company announced its plans to set-up an end-to-end manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, pharma shares as a sector was one of the top performer. The BSE Healthcare index strengthened by 1.6 per cent. A slew of pharma firm have launched a generic version of Molnupiravir in India post approval for emergency use authorisation from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in the backdrop of the Omicron threat. READ MORE

"Outweighing weak sentiments in most sectors, the pharma sector aided the domestic market to close on a flat note with a positive bias. Emergency Use Authorization of covid vaccines Corbevax and Covovax along with the clearance of anti-viral drug Molnupiravir for restricted use has boosted the appetite for most pharma stocks today. FIIs were net buyers for the first time this month which helped the market. Multiplex stocks have taken a hit following closure of cinema halls due to stricter covid restrictions in Delhi while mid & small caps outperformed", said Vinod Nair, Head Of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

IndusInd Bank and Dr.Reddy's were the other major Sensex gainers, up around 1.5 per cent each. Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the other notable gainers.

On the flip side, SBI slipped nearly 2 per cent. ITC, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and Kotak Bank were the other major losers.



Among sectoral indices other than the Healthcare index, the auto index was the notable gainer, up 0.4 per cent. On the negative front, BSE Bankex was the top loser, down 0.8 per cent.

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In the broader markets, India Glycols was locked at the 20 per cent upper limit. Responsive Industries, Aptech, Rain Industries, Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Poonawala Fincorp, Transport Corporation of India, Graphite India, Cybertech Systems, Nureca, Shiva Mills, HB Stock Holdings, Hi-Tech Pipes, Supriya Lifescience, Manaksia and Sharda Motor were the other major gainers.

Wheras, Religare Enterprises, Jiaprakash Power Ventures, JK Cement, MTNL, Sunteck Realty, Bombay Dyeing, JP Associates, Minda Industries, Kabra Extrusions, Alphageo, Ratnabhumi Developers and Inox Wind were the significant losers.
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Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices continue to consolidate in a narrow band. The Sensex was down 15 points at 57,882. The NSE Nifty was down two points at 17,231.

Among sectors, the BSE Healthcare index surged 1.5 per cent and was the top performer of the day so far. On the flip side, the Metal index was the major laggard.

In the broader markets, recent debutant Supriya Lifescience (SLL) surged another 20 per cent to Rs 468.40 on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade, after the company made a strong stock market debut on Tuesday. With today’s rally, the stock of the pharmaceuticals company zoomed 71 per cent against its issue price of Rs 274 per share. READ MORE

Another recently listed stock, C E Info Systems (MapmyIndia) hit a new high of Rs 1,774.80, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade. The stock surged 22 per cent in last two trading sessions, and was up 72 per cent when compared to its issue price of Rs 1,033 per share. READ MORE

Meanwhile in Europe, FTSE 100 had jumped 0.9 per cent. The DAX 30 was down 0.1 per cent, while CAC 40 had moved 0.1 per cent higher. Dow futures were up 61 points, and Nasdaq had added 68 points.
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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The BSE Sensex has been consolidating in an extremely thin range of 200-odd points since the last three hours.

The BSE Sensex so far in the day has touched a high of 58,097, and a low of 57,721, and was up 23 points at 57,920. It's counterpart NSE Nifty was unmoved points at 17,233.

Among the Sensex 30 shares, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma and Dr.Reddy's were the major gainers. Titan, Bajaj Finserv and HCL Tech had also logged smart gains. On the other hand, Tata Steel and ITC were the prominent losers, down over a per cent.

The broader indices were also up marginally in trades on Wednesday so far. The BSE Midcap index had advanced 0.1 per cent, while the Smallcap index had added 0.5 per cent. The overall breadth too was fairly positive. Out of 3,408 stocks traded on the BSE so far, 2,056 had advanced and 1,231 had declined.

Elsewhere in Asia, the major markets were mostly in red. Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite and Kospi had declined around a per cent each. Nikkei too was down over 0.5 per cent. However, Straits Times and Taiwan ended with gains of 0.3 per cent each.

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Markets at 12 noon

LIVE market updates: Frontline indices remained listless in noon trade amid a lacklustre market. The BSE Sensex was down 24 points at 57,873 and the NSE Nifty was at 17,219, 13 points lower. 

The broader markets were outperforming with mild gains. The BSE MidCap index was 0.1 per cent higher, while the BSE SmallCap was up 0.4 per cent. 

Among sectors, pharma and health continued their upward momentum and bucked the overall trend, with each being over 1 per cent higher on the NSE. Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were leading gains on the Sensex, up nearly 2 per cent each. 

Among the laggards, banks, auto, IT, FMCG stocks were under pressure. Tata Steel, ITC, HDFC Bank, SBI, HUL, Infosys, Wipro continued trading in the red zone on the Sensex. 

On the NSE, Sail, Coal India, Jindal Steel, Vedanta, NMDC, JSW Steel were down 0.8-3 per cent. The Nifty Metal index was 1 per cent lower. 

Moreover, textile stocks, in the past one year, have witnessed a significant re-rating with readymade garment exporters (RMG) stocks like KPR Mills and Gokaldas Exports (GEL) rallying around 6x. These stocks can gain up to 12 per cent going ahead. READ MORE.

Among individual stocks, the shares of C E Info Systems (MapmyIndia) hit a new high of Rs 1,774.80, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE. The stock has surged 22 per cent in last two trading sessions after having made a strong debut last week. READ MORE. 

Asian Markets

The shares in Asia-Pacific region were mixed in trade as investors assessed the impact of the omicron Covid variant. The Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.67 per cent while the Topix index also declined 0.42 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.92 per cent.

Mainland Chinese stocks declined, with the Shanghai composite down 0.79 per cent while the Shenzhen component shed 1.13 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.88 per cent.

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Markets at 10 am

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices continued to inch up and held onto mild gains. The BSE Sensex was testing the 58,000-mark and was up over 100 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 was nearky 30 points higher, at 17,272.

The broader market was a bit higher than the frontline indices. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were trading 0.4 and 0.7 per cent higher, respectively. 

Among stocks, Amara Raja Batteries was up 1 per cent after the company, as part of its strategic initiatives to venture into new-energy business and EV batteries, agreed to invest up to Euro 10 million by way of equity and convertible bonds in InBot Auto AS, Oslo Norway. 

Further, private banks continued to trade higher, with IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj twins, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank being the major gainers among the Sensex-30 constituents.

Among sectors, the  shares of pharmaceutical companies were trading firm, with Nifty Pharma index gaining nearly 1 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on expectation of improved outlook. READ MORE.

Metals remained the worst hit, being the only sector in red on the NSE. IT, Auto, FMCG and Oil and Gas also remained weak, up only marginally. 

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Opening Bell
 

LIVE market updates: In tandem with weak global market cues, the benchmark indices opened tepidly on Wednesday. The BSE Sensex was up 50 points at 57,947 while the Nifty50 was at 17,253, 20 points higher.
 

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were in the green zone, trading 0.4 and 0.7 per cent higher.

Among Sensex-30 constituents, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Reliance, ICICI Bank, L&T, and Axis Bank were the leading gainers, trading 0.3-1.7 per cent higher. On the Nifty50, Cipla was the additional gainer, up over 1 per cent.

Sectorally, the Nifty Pharma and Healthcare indices were trading nearly 0.8 per cent higher, leading the gains on the back of India approving Merck's anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir. As many as 13 pharma companies will manufacture and supply the drug globally and domestically. 

Major sectoral losers, on the other hand included Auto, FMCG, IT and Metal. 

PowerGrid, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, M&M, TCS and Wipro were among the top losers on the Sensex, down 0.2-0.8 per cent.
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Pre-open session
 

LIVE market updates: Benchmark indices were trading lower in the pre-open session indicating a tepid start on Wednesday. Both the indices were in red. The BSE Sensex was lower 9 points at 57,888, while the Nifty50 was at 17,220, down 13 points.

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LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices may start on a muted note on Wednesday, mirroring the weak sentiment of their global counterparts amid rising threat of the rapidly-spreading omicron variant. 

At 8:15 am, the SGX Nifty was quoting 17,274, as compared to Nifty's spot close of 17,233 on Tuesday.  
 

Meanwhile, SEBI in its board meeting on IPO reforms, as expected, has tightened norms for public share sales. It has prescribed a minimum 5 per cent gap in IPO price bands, extended the lock-in period for anchor investors to 90 days and capped the amount a majority investor can sell through an offer for sale. READ MORE

Among stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra will be in focus today as the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Mahindra Engineering and Chemical Products, has agreed to sell its entire stake aggregating to 49 percent of the paid-up equity share capital held in MahindraTsubaki Conveyor Systems.

Financial stocks will also be watched out for as the RBI has warned that banks' asset quality could get dented and it specifically warned that NBFC asset quality could see a further hit. 

Global cues

The benchmark indices in the US had ended on a mixed note, with the S&P 500 registering a new all-time high in intra-day trades. Dow Jones was up 0.3 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Oil prices ended with marginal gains on Tuesday despite rapid spread of the Omicron Coronavirus variant. Brent Crude rose 0.4 per cent to $78.94 a barrel, and WTI Crude added 0.5 per cent to $75.98 a barrel.

Markets in Asia too were mixed this morning. Hang Seng had declined 0.7 per cent. Nikkei and Kospi were down 0.5 per cent each, while Shanghai Composite was down 0.2 per cent. Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted, however, were up 0.2 per cent each.