Sensex sheds 503pts, Nifty ends at 17,368; financials slip, Tega jumps 60%

Closing Bell

The key benchmark indices reversed course during the day on the back of weakness in select financial shares, FMCG and index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, had started the day on a positive note and rallied to a high of 59,203. The inddex, however, erased gains and tumbled to a low of 58,243 - down 960 points from the day's high. The Sensex finally ended 503 points lower at 58,283.

The NSE Nifty touched a high of 17,640, and a low of 17,356, and eventually settled at 17,368 - down 143 points.

Going ahead, the markets will be looking for cues from the domestic macro data, global peers and policy action by Central Bankers around the world.

"The Fed is far from being the only key central bank meeting in the week ahead.  The ECB’s December meeting has also been hailed as a key policy meeting and one in which the market is expecting to hear that the pandemic emergency programme (PEPP) will be terminated in March.  In contrast to the Fed, we expect that the ECB will continue to assess inflation as transitory," said analysts at Rabobank International in a note.

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

Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv delcined 3 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively. Reliance Industries was down 1.9 per cent at Rs 2,412. Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, SBI, HDFC, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Bank were the other major losers.

On the positive front, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra gained nearly 2.5 per cent each. PowerGrid Corporation and Maruti were the other notable gainers.

Debutant Tega zoomed to a high of Rs 767, and eventually ended at Rs 725 - a premium of 60.2 per cent to its issue price. READ MORE

The broader indices ended on a mixed note. The BSE Midcap index was down 0.5 per cent, while the Smallcap index was up 0.2 per cent.

In the broader markets, New Delhi Television (NDTV) was locked at the 20 per cent upper circuit and hit a fresh five-year high at Rs 111.30 on the BSE. The the stock of the broadcasting & cable TV operator has zoomed 45 per cent after the company signed a Rs 750-crore deal with Taboola for 10 years. READ MORE

Brightcom Group was locked at its sixth straight 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 168.38 today. The stock has jumped nearly five-fold in just three months after Shankar Sharma, vice chairman & joint managing director at First Global acquired stake in the company via the perferrential route. READ MORE

Click here for more market news

Primary Market Update

MedPlus Health Services IPO which opened for subscription today, was subscirbed 51 per cent as of 03;30 PM, with retail portion almost fully subscribed.

Meanwhile, Metro Brands IPO was was subscribed 45 per cent, with the retail quota subscribed 79 per cent on Day 2 of the offer period. C. E. Info Systems (MapmyIndia) IPO whihc closes today, was subscribed 140.69 times, with strong demand from NIIs (wealthy investors) subscribed 384.18 times, QIBs 178.82 times and retail 14.54 times.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices reversed course owing to persistent selling pressure in index Reliance Industries and select auto, financial and IT shares.

The BSE Sensex tumbled 912 points the day's high of 59,203, to a low of 58,291. The BSE index was down 377 points at 58,410. The NSE Nifty had declined 108 points to 17,403.

Index heavweight Reliance has slipped nearly 2 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, Bharti Airtel and HDFC were the other major losers.

The broader markets also pared gains. The BSE Midcap index was down 0.1 per cent. The Smallcap index, however, was up 0.6 per cent.

Among sectors, the BSE Energy index plunged 1.5 per cent, and the Telecom index was down nearly a per cent.

"Domestic markets impacted as RBI Governor cautioned depositors for chasing high returns amid greater risk. Traders also showed cautiousness with the reports that the government is unlikely to announce capital infusion for public sector banks (PSBs) in the upcoming Budget. Our research suggests that 58,000 will act as an important support level in the market. We can expect the Sensex to trade in the range of 58,000-59,200," said Gaurav Garg, head of research, Capitalvia Global Research.

Elsewhere in Asia the markets displayed a mixed trend. Nikkei and Shanghai were up 0.7 per cent each, while, Kospi and Taiwan slipped 0.3 per cent each. Hang Seng was down 0.1 per cent, and Straits Times almost unmoved.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at Noon

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices have pared most of its gains amid selective profit-taking.

The BSE Sensex had touched a high of 59,203, and was up 81 points at 58,868. The NSE Nifty was up 31 points at 17,542.

The broader indices were seen out-perfoming the benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively.

In the broader markets, Policybazaar declined hit a new low in trades on declining 5% to Rs 1,076. Meanwhile, the mandatory one-month lock-in period for anchor investors in the stock ended today. READ MORE

Bannari Sugars, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC), Aptech, Strides, Viabhav Global, Jindal Stainless, Keynote Financial Services, Cambridge Technology, Hindustan Flourocarbons, Hitech Gears and Apollo Micro Systems were the other major gaines.

On the flip side, Network18, Satin CreditCare, Reliance Communications, Starlit Power, Bang Overseas, CAMS, TTL, Genesys International and Aurionpro Solutions were the other notable losers.

Primary Market Update

MedPlus IPO opened for subscription today, as of 11:50 AM, the Rs 1,398 crore issue was subscribed 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, Metro Brands IPO was was subscribed 37 per cent, with the retail quota subscribed 70 per cent on Day 2 of the offer period.
 
C. E. Info Systems (MapmyIndia) IPO closes today. The issue was subscribed 16.31 times, with retail portion subscribed 10.4 times and NIIs (wealthy investors) 43.63 times.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at 11:00 AM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices were off the highs of the day, partly due to weakness in index heavyweight Reliance Industries. 

The BSE Sensex had touched a high of 59,203, and was up 265 points at 59,052. The NSE Nifty was shade below 17,600 at 17,596, up 85 points. 

"India’s bumpy cyclical recovery in 2021 should continue in H1-2022, even as a still-low vaccination rate increases the risk of virus setbacks. However, we worry about the side effects of loose policies that are visible in the form of high inflation (another year above 5%) and a widening current account deficit. The uneven nature of the recovery has also resulted in scarring effects, hurting the consumption of lower income households, while a sustained capex upcycle is not yet in sight," said analyts at Nomura in a recent note. 

Adding: "Overall, we do not see the current growth cycle as durable. With uneven growth, high inflation and wider twin deficits, we expect India’s risk premium to rise, and the RBI to deliver 100bp of cumulative rate hikes, but only after falling behind the curve initially."

Buzzing stocks

Tech Mahindra was the major gainer, up 3 per cent. Axis Bank, PowerGrid Corporation, Maruti, Sun Pharma, Titan, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were the other prominent gainers. On the other hand, Reliance Industries was down a per cent. Bajaj Finance slipped 2.2 per cent, and Bajaj Finserv was down 0.8 per cent.

The broader indices also held smart gains in the morning trades. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. The overall breadth too was extremely positive, with 2,297 advancing shares versus 929 declining socks on the BSE

In the broader markets, Bannari Amman Sugars surged 17 per cent to a hit a new life-time high at Rs 2,850. The stock has been in demand off late, after CARE Ratings reaffirmed the credit ratings for the credit facilities availed by the company from bankers. READ MORE

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: Equities extended their gains and were trading near the day's high level post opening tick. The S&P BSE Sensex was at 59,179 level, up 392 points, while the Nifty50 was at 17,633, up 122 points.

Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Reliance Industries, and Bajaj Finserv were the only 4 stocks trading in the red on the Sensex.

In the broader markets, the MidCap and SmallCap indices on the BSE were up 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tega Industries made a bumper listing on the stock exchanges. The stock debuted at a 67.7 per cent premium on the National Stock Exchange, at Rs 760 per share. The issue price was Rs 453. On the BSE, the shares listed at Rs 753.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Opening Bell

LIVE market updates: Bulls reigned on Dalal Street in early deals on Monday, riding on the back of firm global equities and bargain buying in metal and PSU bank stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 326 points, or 0.52 per cent, to quote at 59,113 levels. The Nifty50, meanwhile, rallied above 17,600-mark, up 100 points. This was the 50-pack index's highest level since November 22.

Barring Bajaj Finance, all other Sensex stocks were trading with bullish bias. Power Grid (up 3 per cent), Axis Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, and Asian Paints were the outperforming stocks on the index.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added 0.66 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively.

Individually, shares of PB Fintech (Policybazaar) were down 2 per cent as its anchor lock-in period ended today.

Dixon Technologies, on the other hand, was up 4.5 per cent. Global brokerage Jefferies has a "buy" call on the stock with a target price of Rs 6,450.

Among sectors, the Nifty Metal index was up 1.5 per cent, followed by the Nifty Realty index (up 1 per cent). All other sectoral indices were up in the range of 0.4 per cent to 0.9 per cent.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: Benchmark indices were back above their crucial levels in pre-market session on Monday. The BSE Sensex index reclaimed the 59,000-mark as it gained over 300 points or 0.5 per cent. The Nifty50, too, was back above 17,600-mark.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
(Updated at 08:10 AM)

LIVE market updates: Tracking solid global set-up, domestic equities look set to soar in early trade on Monday. At 8:10 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,668 compared with Nifty's spot close of 17,511 on Friday.

Asia-Pacific markets jumped in morning trade today as investors turn their focus to a number of monetary policy meetings happening this week.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.92 per cent while the Topix index added 0.38 per cent. South Korea's Kospi added 0.7 per cent and Australia's benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.6 per cent.

Primary market update

The three-day IPO of MapmyIndia, which has been subscribed 6.16 times, will close later in the day, while that of Metro Brands will enter its second day.

Meanwhile, MedPlus Health Services Ltd's initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription today. The firm is looking to raise Rs 1,398.71 crore at the upper end of the price band of Rs 780-796 per share.