As per the provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 641.72 points or 1.3% at 49,858.97. The Nifty 50 index gained 186.15 points or 1.28% at 14,744.
HUL (up 4.5%), NTPC (up 4.2%) and Reliance Industries (up 3.4%) supported the rally.
The broader market ended with gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.35% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.41%.
The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1477 shares rose and 1,451 shares fell. A total of 208 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,258.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,116.17 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 March 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
On 18 March, Mumbai recorded 2,877 new cases and 8 deaths. The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has said that it will make the Rapid Antigen Test facility to take samples for coronavirus testing compulsory for all malls in Mumbai.
India reported 2,71,282 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,59,370 deaths while 1,10,83,679 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,18,04,270 with 26,91,300 deaths.
Global Markets:
European shares fell across the board while most Asian markets closed on a weaker note on Friday as a spike in global bond yields soured sentiment toward richly priced tech stocks. Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq tumbling over 3%, hit by rising Treasury yields and fresh worries about the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
Benchmark US Treasury yields hit 14-month peaks on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose as high as 1.754%, its highest level since January 2020, leading a worldwide move higher in bond yields. The jump in bond yields came after the Federal Reserve expressed its willingness to allow an overshoot in inflation.
Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. Rising bond yields typically signal confidence about economic recovery and fears about inflation, which can make high growth stocks appear less attractive to investors.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to 770,000. Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims climbed from 725,000 the week before.
New Listing:
Shares of Easy Trip Planners were trading at Rs 208.1 per share at 15:24 IST on the BSE, at a premium of 11.28% as against the issue of Rs 187 apiece.
The stock was listed at Rs 206, a premium of 10.06% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far, the stock hit a high of Rs 233.15 and low of 187. On the BSE, 43.36 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.
The IPO of Easy Trip Planners received bids for 240.27 crore shares as against 1.50 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data. The issue was subscribed 159.33 times.
Stocks in Spotlight:
GAIL (India) rose 2.92%. The PSU company on Thursday announced that it has signed a concession agreement with Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) for setting up Compressed Biogas (CBG) Plant in Ranchi. As per the agreement, GAIL will setup CBG Plant for processing 150 tons per day of Organic Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The CBG plant will produce 5 tons of CBG per day and approximately 25 tons of fermented bio manure per day.
Dilip Buildcon fell 1.85%. The road construction company received letter of acceptance (LoA) for two new HAM projects under Bharatmala Pariyojana, phase I in the state of Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry. The orders are worth Rs 2241 crore.
Strides Pharma rose 0.28%. The company's Biopharma Unit, Stelis Biopharma (Stelis), announced that it has successfully concluded its Series B and Series C fund raise for a cumulative amount of $195 million. Post money valuation for Stelis will be pegged at about $350 million, underpinning the significant growth potential of the business. With the current capital raise, Stelis is now well positioned to pursue its growth initiatives and scale its business model to deliver promising returns in the coming years. The capital raise will be utilized in the completion of last mile capex for the CDMO business including setting up of 6 KL mammalian block; ramp up of process development lab and other technical capabilities; accelerating the vaccine block infrastructure with ability to cater to multiple vaccine types including viral vector, protein subunit, RNA and DNA; and debt servicing & other general corporate purposes.
Adani Enterprises added 2%. The company's subsidiary Adani Road Transport has received letter of award (LoA) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a toll operate transfer (TOT) road project in Gujarat. Adani Road Transport (ARTL) is engaged in the business of construction, operation and maintenance of roads, highways, expressways.
Indo Count Industries soared 8% after the company announced that its the board of directors has approved expansion of its bed linen capacity by about 20% from its existing annual capacity of 90 million meters by debottlenecking and balancing its facilities.
Zuari Agro Chemicals fell 0.88% after the company said that its NPK-B plant has been shut down due to delay in the arrival of raw materials. NPK stands for "nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium," the three nutrients that compose complete fertilizers.
Buzzing Segment:
Shares of Future Group companies tumbled after Delhi High Court upheld the order by Singapore International Arbitration Centre prohibiting its deal with Reliance Retail.
Among the Future Group stocks, Future Retail (down 10%), Future Lifestyle Fashions (down 10%), Future Consumer (down 10%) and Future Enterprises (down 9.53%) declined.
The single judge of the Delhi High Court, justice JR Midha, on Thursday (18 March 2021), held Kishore Biyani and his company Future Retail guilty for violating the 2 February 2021 order, which had directed that status quo be maintained on the Group's Rs 24,713-crore deal with RIL's Reliance Retail.
The bench of Justice JR Midha held that Kishore Biyani-led Future Group wilfully violated Singapore Arbitrator's order and directed it not to take further any action on the deal. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre's (SIAC), on 25 October 2020, had passed an interim order in favour of Amazon, restraining Future Group from proceeding on the deal.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the presence of Biyani and others before it on 28 April and has ordered attachment of properties of Biyani and others related to the Future Group. It also imposed Rs 20 lakh cost on Future Group and its directors and ordered that the amount should be deposited in Prime Minister's Relief Fund for providing COVID-19 vaccines to senior citizens of Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The high court also asked them to show cause as to why they be not detained for three months under civil prison for violating the Singapore arbitrator's order.
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