Market Wrap Podcast, Nov 3: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Equity markets ended Samvat 2077 with the best returns in 12 years. The frontline indices — the Nifty 50 and the S&P BSE Sensex — surged 39.5 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively.

The rally in the broader markets has been sharper during the traditional accounting year that will end with Diwali this week. While the S&P BSE Smallcap index surged 81 per cent during this period, the S&P BSE Midcap index moved up 61.5 per cent.

Back in Samvat 2065, the frontline indices had risen 104 per cent, while the midcap and smallcap indices had appreciated by 123 per cent and 120 per cent, respectively, shows data.

Going-forward, analysts have turned cautious, and believe the Indian stock markets have run up too fast, too soon. Against this backdrop, they expect a correction in the near term, given the rich valuation and the multiple headwinds they face in the short run.

Coming to today's trading session, the key benchmark indices slipped for the second straight day on the back of selling pressure in select index heavyweights, like Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The BSE Sensex index had touched a high of 60,362 in early deals, but finally ended with a loss of 257 points at 59,772.

The NSE Nifty, on the other hand, eventually settled with a loss of 60 points at 17,829. It had touched a high of 17,989 earlier today.

Larsen & Toubro was the major gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, up 4 per cent. The stock rallied to a fresh life-time high on hopes of strong order inflows in Q3.

SBI, too, registered a fresh all-time high at Rs 542 after the PSU bank reported a record net profit of Rs 7,627 crore in Q2, up 67 per cent YoY. The stock ended 1.8 per cent higher at Rs 531.

Asian Paints and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers, up over 2 per cent each.

On the flip side, Sun Pharma dropped 3 per cent, and IndusInd Bank slipped 2.7 per cent. Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank declined around 2 per cent each. HDFC Bank, Titan, PowerGrid Corporation, ITC and Bajaj Auto were the other prominent losers.

The broader markets moved in tandem with the key benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.

Among other individual stocks, shares of Bharti Airtel ended 2 per cent lower even as the company, in its investor call with analysts, said that it sees ARPU, or average revenue per user, rising to Rs 200 levels in the near-term. It also said India mobile revenue market share is at 35.6%, which is a lifetime high.

Shares of Zee Entertainment, on the other hand, also closed 2.3 per cent lower after the company announced November 11 as board meeting date to announce earnings. The company, which has been immersed in a legal battle with its largest shareholder, had cancelled the October 27 board meet citing lack of quorum.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is likely to defer and tweak the diktat on implementing a T+1 settlement cycle. The settlement cycle may now be implemented in a phased manner, following representations from foreign investors, and may apply only to the bottom 100 companies starting February 25, according to reports.

According to the regulator's new plans, bottom 100 stocks by market capitalisation will be added first to the shorter settlement cycle, following which 500 more stocks from the bottom will be added every month till all stocks eventually move to the shorter settlement cycle.

Lastly, a look at the primary market. The initial share sale of Policybazaar was subscribed over 16 times till 4 PM. Meanwhile, Sigachi Industries and SJS Enterprises' IPOs were subscribed over 100 times and 1.6 times.

Now, coming to Thursday, stock exchanges will open only for a special, one-hour Muhurat Trading session tomorrow to usher in Samvat 2078. The Muhurat trading session will begin at 6:15 PM and end at 7:15 PM and with the closing session slated between 7:25 and 7:35 PM. Markets will also be closed on Friday on account of Diwali Balipratipada.