Market Wrap Podcast, September 16: All that happened in the markets today

The domestic benchmark indices rose for the third consecutive session on Thursday, boosted by strong gains in the banking and FMCG names. Various reforms introduced by the government, hopes of sharp economic recovery along with positive cues from European peers aided the sentiment on the Street, pushing the benchmarks Sensex and Nifty to record high levels.

The BSE flagship index Sensex topped the 59,000 mark for the first time. It settled the day 418 points up at 59,141 after touching a new high of 59,204 in intra-day deals. Nifty, meanwhile, rose above the 17,600 level to end 110 points higher at 17,630. It hit a new high of 17,645 during the session.

In the sectoral landscape, the only sectors that ended in the red were -- Nifty Media, IT and Metal. On the other hand, banking stocks led the gains, with Nifty PSU Bank as the best performer, up 5.4 per cent. The rally in PSU Banking names was seen ahead of the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's address later in the evening. According to reports, FM would make announcements about a proposal to set up a bad bank, which would keep the sector in focus on Friday too.

Other gainers included Nifty Private Bank that rose 2.7 per cent and Nifty Bank that added 2.2 per cent. The Nifty Bank index had touched an all-time high of 37710 in today's session.

The stock of the day turned out to be the Kolkata-headquartered ITC as its shares ended 6.6 per cent higher. It was also among the top Sensex contributors. The stock settled at Rs 230.75, close to its 52-week high of Rs 239.15.

Another stock that hogged the limelight today was Vodafone Idea. The shares ended 27 per cent higher after the government announced relief measures for the telecom sector. The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal giving telcos a moratorium on their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues as well as spectrum payments prospectively for the next four years. 

However, Bharti Airtel's stock ended at day's low, down 1.3 per cent on the back of profit-booking. The shares of Bharti Airtel fell owing to weakening prospects of seeing a duopoly in the telecom market, which would have otherwise benefited the Sunil Mittal-led telecom service provider.

Another top performer of the day was Easy Trip Planners as its shares vaulted 20 per cent to settle at Rs 650 after the company said it has expanded its international footprint by incorporating wholly-owned subsidiaries in the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States of America. The stock also hit a new high of Rs 652 in trade today.

On the other hand, shares of Hindustan Copper tumbled 7 per cent on the first day of its offer for sale. The government plans to sell 10 per cent of the company's equity via the OFS. The OFS will open for retail investors on Friday.

That apart, it was the final day of Sansera Engineering IPO. The company garnered 11.41 times bids. The QIB portion was subscribed a whopping 26.47 times. On the other hand, the retail individual investors' part was subscribed 3.04 times.

Now going into trade on Friday, the markets will take cues from Sitharaman's press conference, which is scheduled to be held at 5 pm today. Further, stock-specific news and global cues will also provide direction to the markets. Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities believes further upside can be expected towards 17600-17700 levels in the next few sessions and the immediate support is placed at 17420 levels.