HDFC twins, RIL drive Sensex 834 pts up; Nifty tops 14,500; midcaps outrun

Stock market LIVE updates: India VIX cools off 6%

MARKET LIVE: Sensex soars 800 points; Bajaj twins, HDFC top gainers

Stock market updates: Solid December quarter results, so far, and positive global cues fulled an across-the-board buying in the equity markets on Tuesday. Bulls recovered nearly all the losses incurred over the past two days and settled nearly 2 per cent higher today.

In the intra-day trade, the S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 936 points to hit a high of 49,500 levels. The index pared gains marginally and closed with gains of 834 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 49,398.29 levels.

Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, ICICI Bank, and L&T jumped between 3 per cent and 7 per cent on the BSE today, contributing the most towards the index's gain. That apart, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and TCS, all up in the range of 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, remained other contributors.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 reclaimed the 14,500-mark in the intra-day trade to hit a high of 14,546. The 50-share index, however, closed at 14,521 levels, up 239.85 points or 1.68 per cent. 46 of the 50 constituents ended the day in the green.

In the broader market, mid-cap peers outperformed the large-caps, with the S&P BSE MidCap index settling 2.3 per cent higher at 18,953. The SmallCap index, on the other hand, closed at 18,634.97, up 1.6 per cent higher.

Among key sectoral indices, Nifty Financial Services index ended 2.4 per cent higher at 15,614.10. During the day, Bajaj twins – Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv - rallied 9 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, while Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, too, surged 9 per cent on the back of heavy volumes. READ MORE

That apart, Nifty Realty index surged up to 4.8 per cent on the NSE, hitting an intra-day high of 341, which was close to its 52-week high level of 346.50. Among individual stocks, Indiabulls Real Estate zoomed 13 per cent to Rs 87.90; DLF hit a 52-week high of Rs 296 after rallying 7 per cent in intra-day trade; Godrej Properties, Prestige Estate Projects, Sobha, Oberoi Realty and Brigade Enterprises were up in the range of 3 per cent to 4 per cent.

Global cues

European shares rose on Tuesday after Asian markets rallied on optimism about China's economy, while upbeat earnings reports from miner Rio Tinto and computer peripherals maker Logitech boosted sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.4 per cent, while Germany's DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4 per cent and London's blue-chip index rose 0.7 per cent.

Asian stocks closed in on all-time highs as investors wagered China's economic strength would help underpin growth in the region after data confirmed the world's second-largest economy was one of the few to grow over 2020.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:25 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Keshav Lahoti, associate equity analyst at Angel Broking

Tracking positive global cues, Nifty opened positively & gradually rallied during the day to close up by 1.7%. Rally was all across the sectors, all the sectoral indices closed in green. Nifty Realty closed up by 4.2% due to strong demand & favourable announcement in budget for the sector. Mindtree closed up by 1.1% after it posted a 66% year-on-year rise in Q3 net profit. Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company surged 7% after its MD Arun Alagappan resigned. Indiabulls Real Estate soared 11.5% after its quarterly consolidated net profit rose by 64%. We are cautiously bullish on the market and expect it to hit new highs again.

4:17 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Deepak Jasani, Head of Research, HDFC Securities

Indian equity benchmark indices bounced back strongly on Jan 19 after two days of losses. At close, the Nifty was up 239.90 points or 1.68% at 14,521.20.

Volumes on the NSE were the lowest since Jan 01. Among sectors, Realty, Metals, PSU Banks, Media, Bank, Auto and Pharma rose the most.

Nifty has bounced back smartly on Jan 19, however with lower volumes. This has raised hopes of continuation in the upmove. Sharply positive advance decline ratio also reinforces this feeling. However it would be interesting to watch as to whether Nifty will cross 14653 and make a new high.

4:09 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Shrikant Chouhan, Executive VP, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities

The market has formed complete reversal formation by closing above the highest of the previous day, which was at 14459/49122. Today, all the sectors closed in positive territory. The market breadth was extremely encouraging. Unusual surge in the Hang Seng helped other Asian markets to trade higher. Along with Asian markets, today’s performance of US markets would decide the next course of action for our markets. The market is heading for 14580/49600 levels, which is a crucial hurdle point for the market. On the decisive break of 14580/49600 levels, it would result in retesting of 14650/49800 levels, which is an all-time highest level. On the downside, 14450/49100 and 14350/48800 would be major supports. The focus should be on Commodities and Pharmaceutical stocks

4:04 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

The bulls were back in action as the markets gained nearly two percent and settled around the day’s high as well. After two days of slide, the benchmark opened higher, in response to an optimistic statement from US Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, about a big fiscal push in the US. The momentum further gained strength as the session progressed, with healthy buying across sectors. Consequently, the Nifty ended at 14,521 levels; up by 1.7%. The broader markets too posted decent gains in the range of 1.6-2.3%. Amongst the sectors, all the indices ended in positive with realty, metals and capital goods were the top gainers.

Going ahead, earnings and global cues would remain on the participants’ radar. Besides, we’re also seeing noticeable buzz across the sectors in run up to Budget. We feel it would be prudent for the markets to spend some time around the current levels. Meanwhile, there’ll be no shortage of trading and investment opportunities, thanks to prevailing earnings season and upcoming budget. Amid all, we suggest not to go overboard and stick to the quality names and accumulate them on dips.

4:01 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Bulls took control after two days of massive sell-off, tracking positive cues from Asian markets and in expectation that the bigger US stimulus may keep the liquidity alive. Buying was seen across sectors with realty and PSU Banks outshining. The current market will get further boost by foreign inflow if additional US stimulus kicks in. However, recent volatility in the market has increased due to concerns over high valuations and bond yields, investors should be watchful

4:00 PM

TECH VIEW :: Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research, CapitalVia Global Research

The market witnessed a strong pullback rally after a few sessions of continuous correction while sustaining and closing above 14400 would be a key factor in the market for the rally to continue. The market is aligned to be in a range-bound movement between the levels of 14180-14680. A decisive breakout above the zone of 14680-14700 could lead to an improvement in market breadth, and a rally till the levels of 14850-14870.

3:58 PM