Market Wrap Podcast, Aug 18: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Soon after a gap-up start to the day, wherein Sensex scaled Mt 56,000, the domestic benchmark indices succumbed to profit taking at higher levels. With the markets closed for trading on Thursday on account of Muharram, the traders avoided carrying their positions to Friday. Further weekly expiry and mixed global setup also kept indices volatile.

The BSE barometer Sensex had jumped to an all-time high of 56,118 in intra-day deals. Although, the index ended the day at 55,629, down 163 points amid losses in private lenders. Its NSE counterpart Nifty50 too ended lower at 16,569, down 46 points after hitting new peak of 16,701.

In the Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj twins and Nestle India were the top gainers and Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were the worst losers.

Consequently, Nifty Private Bank index was the worst sectoral performer, down nearly 1 per cent. Metals and realty indices too witnessed heavy selling. On the flip side, defensive sectors remained in demand. FMCG pack gained the most. IT, pharma and PSU Bank were among only other gainers.

The broader market action was mixed with BSE Midcap rising 0.26 per cent and BSE Smallcap shedding 0.18 per cent. Despite gains in the midcap index, the market breadth remained weak once again and the advance-decline ratio was at 1:2.

In stock-specific action, Vodafone Idea shares rallied over 12 per cent on the BSE to Rs 6.45 as over four crore shares changed hands on BSE and NSE in bulk trade.

Canara Bank shares too were in demand, up 3 per cent at Rs 157, after the bank said its QIP to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore opened on Tuesday.

Among financial names, Bajaj Finance too put up a good show as the stock hit new record high of Rs 6640.80 in intra-day deals. Its market cap briefly crossed Rs 4 trillion mark, making it the eighth most valuable stock. The stock, however, ended at Rs 6544, up 2 per cent and with m-cap of Rs 3.95 trillion.

Shares of Windlas Biotech on the other hand extended their decline and were trading lower for the third straight day since listing. In the intra-day trade, the shares dropped 4 per cent at Rs 385.50 on the BSE, and are down 16 per cent from its issue price of Rs 460 per share. The stock ended at Rs 388.

Lastly, on the global market front, US equity-index futures fell as investors assessed the outlook for economic recovery and awaited the latest Federal Reserve minutes to gauge the direction of monetary policy. Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent while Dow Jones futures were down 0.3 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed.