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Closing Bell
Key stock indices gave up their initial gains and ended lower on the back of fresh selling pressure in automobiles, telecom, cement and steel stocks.
The BSE sensex ended lower by 131.18 points, or 0.44%, to 29,815.59, while the Nifty also shed 23.45 points, or 0.27%, to settle at 8,618.00 on the NSE. The Sensex fell 1,310 points from the day's high of 31,126 attained in the morning session.
Markets turned extremely volatile with the Sensex gyrated 1,780 points intraday after the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced strong monetary measures to boost the stressed-out economy amid the country lockdown due to covid-19 disease. The RBI announced repo and reverse repo rate cuts of a sizeable 75 bps and 90 bps respectively, which could not push the markets further up, as equities lost momentum as investors preferred to take profits off the table.
Earlier, equity benchmark Sensex surged over 1,100 points in opening session led by gains in banking stocks ahead of Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das’ address. Positive cues from the global markets too enthused investor sentiment here. The 30-share BSE barometer registered 1,179 points or 4 per cent higher at 31,126.03. Similarly, the NSE Nifty zoomed 397 points, or 4.50 per cent, to 9,038.90. However, the rally could not be sustained due to fresh selling pressure amid profit booking.
IndusInd Bank, which was the top gainer initially in the Sensex pack, rallied up to 24 per cent, to Rs 542.30 on the BSE, only to fall afterwards and ended lower by Rs 25.95, or (- 5.95%), at Rs 411.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 484.78 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.
IT-SOFTWARE STOCKS ON NSE
IT-Software Stocks on NSE
CHEMICAL STOCKS ON NSE
Sectoral Indices Heat Map
Broker's call: Finolex Cables
Global brokerage house Jefferies has upgraded Finolex Cables to buy on better valuation and strong balance sheet, but cut price target to Rs 500 from Rs 765 per share.
It has also chosen other top midcap picks such as Supreme Industries, V-Guard Industries, and Kajaria Ceramics. It has a buy call on all these stocks but slashed targets for Supreme Industries to Rs 1,260 (from Rs 1,530), VGuard Ind to Rs 240 (from Rs 290) and Kajaria Ceramics to Rs 530 (from Rs 775), respectively
Auto sector down 2.60% on BSE
Among the components of the S&P BSE Auto index, Hero MotoCorp Ltd (down 6.98%), TVS Motor Company Ltd (down 5.30%),Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (down 4.76%),Cummins India Ltd (down 5.75%),Eicher Motors Ltd (down 2.65%), were the top losers.
Other losers were Bajaj Auto Ltd (down 2.37%), Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (down 1.38%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (down 0.73%), and Tata Motors Ltd (down 0.07%).
On the other hand, Balkrishna Industries Ltd (up 2.50%), Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (up 2.80%), and M&M (up 1.80%) scored marginal gains.
Tamil Nadu reports six more coronavius cases, tally jumps to 35
As many as six more people tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 35, the State government said.
Of them, five people contracted the infection through contact with those tested positive for the coronavirus.
European stocks open lower
European stocks opened lower, tracking losses at US stock futures as investor concern increased over rising coronavirus cases in the US.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, fell 1.7% to 315.96, with the FTSE 100 index UKX, out in front with a 3.1% drop to 5,634.43.
Dow Jones Industrial Average stock futures YM00 fell 248 points, or 1.1%, to 22,105, while S&P 500 ES00, and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped over 1% each.
Losses come after the Dow industrials re-entered bull-market territory on Thursday, with a gain of more than 6%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.7%.
The U.S. now has the most cases of coronavirus in the world, passing China with more than 85,000 cases.
Nifty 50 April Futures (8,660)
Taking cues from the positive global markets, the domestic equity indices- the Sensex and the Nifty started the session with a gap-up open. The key US benchmark indices, Dow Jones and S&P 500 had gained over 6 per cent each last session. The Nikkei 225 index has surged 3.8 per cent to 19,389 and Hang Seng index has advanced 0.8 per cent to 23,533 levels in today's session.
Rate-sensitive bank, realty shares gain after RBI announcements
Interest-rate sensitive bank, realty and auto shares on Friday gained up to 12.40 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to deal with the hardship caused due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Shares of Axis Bank were trading higher by 12.40 per cent, IndusInd Bank 6.25 per cent, State Bank of India 5.19 per cent, Federal Bank 4.55 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.61 per cent, RBL Bank 2 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.47 per cent and HDFC Bank 0.21 per cent. Led by rise in these companies, the BSE Bankex rose by 4.12 per cent.
Most Cognizant employees in India to get additional 25% base pay for April
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cognizant Technology Solutions has announced an additional payment of 25 per cent of the base pay for April for employees up to the associate level in India and the Philippines. This applies to more than two-thirds of the IT firm’s India workforce.
1.15 pm
BSE SECTORAL INDICES
BSE SECTORAL INDICES
Day Trading Guide For March-27
₹913 • HDFC Bank
₹646 • Infosys
₹157 • ITC
NIFTY BANK
BANK NIFTY CHART
Moody’s slashes India GDP growth in 2020 to 2.5%
Moody’s Investors Service on Friday slashed its estimate of India’s GDP growth during 2020 calendar year to 2.5 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 5.3 per cent and said the coronavirus pandemic will cause unprecedented shock to the global economy.
The estimate for 2020 compares to 5 per cent economic growth in 2019.
Immediately after the RBI Governor had announced the new monetary policy measures, the markets reacted sharply lower and traded well below yesterday's closing levels.
The BSE Sensex declined 442 points, or 1.50%, to trade at 29,505.24. Earlier in the day, it opened at 30,747,81, and touched a high of 31,126.03.
On the NSE, the Nifty was down by 33.30 points to 8,608.15. It touched a low of 8,537.90 earlier.
What is meant by Repo rate?
The RBI has cut the repo rate by 75 basis points today to reduce the financial stress in the system.
The repurchase rate or Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.
How does the repo rate work?
The repo rate is the interest rate at which the Bank lends money to private banks. For example, if the repo rate increases, banks have to pay more for repo funds. To maintain their existing profit margins, banks raise the interest rates at which they take deposits from and lend money to their customers.
When the repo rate was cut by the RBI, as being done today, banks will pay reduced rate for the funds used by them.
What is meant by CRR?
Cash Reserve Ratio ( CRR ) is a certain minimum amount of deposit that the commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the central bank.
We can say that CRR is a tool used by a central bank to control liquidity in the banking system. The reduction in CRR will enable the banks to release money into the economy and also helps their ability to raise capital by them.
Daily Rupee call: Go long above 74.5
The rupee (INR) has opened with a gain today against the dollar (USD), at 74.48 versus its previous close of 75.15. The local currency has gained above the important level of 75, but 74.5 can act as a hurdle. Above that level, 74.35 is a potential resistance. On the downside, 75.3 is the support below 75.
10.35 am
Rupee up by 71 paise
The rupee moved up by 71 paise to 74.43 against the dollar while the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced policy measures to tide over the current economic stress.
At present, Rupee was trading at 74.58, up by 56 paise against the dollar. The RBI Governor is announcing measures right now through web telecast in order to tackle the stress in the financial system.
The RBI cuts repo rate by 75 BPS to 4.40 per cent. MPC voted for sizeable rate cut of 75 bps by a majority of 4:2. The reverse repo rate was cut by 90 bps to 4 per cent. RBI has said the reverse repo rate cut sizeably for ease financial stress of banks and to ensure normal functioning. This decision was taken for incentivising banks to lend money.
The Cash Reserve Issue (CRR) was cut by 100 basis points to 3 per cent. The measures will inject funds into the economy to the tune of Rs 3.40 lakh crore.
Banks are allowed by RBI to defer by 3 months on all loan payments. Lending institutions, banks are allowed a 3 month moratorium and allowed them to defer interest on all loans and working capital repayments
Why RIL stock is on roller-coaster ride
Market behemoth Reliance Industries (RIL) has been on a roller-coaster ride for over the past couple of weeks. The stock was on a downslide since mid-December 2019 when it touched its peak of ₹1,610 - this was due to, among other factors, market weakness and worries about the impact of the coronavirus spread on the business.
10 am
Sensex rallies over 900 pts; Nifty tops 9,000 level
Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 1,100 points in opening session on Friday led by gains in banking stocks ahead of Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das’ address.
Positive cues from the global markets too enthused investor sentiment here.
The 30-share BSE barometer was trading 954.85 points or 3.19 per cent higher at 30,901.62. It had hit an high of 31,126.03.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty zoomed 329.25 points, or 3.80 per cent, to 8,970.70. It touched an high of 9,038.90 in the opening trades.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 20 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and M&M. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, TCS and Bajaj Auto were the top losers.
In the previous session, equity benchmarks surged for the third straight session, logging their best three-day gains in years, after the government’s much awaited stimulus measures for coronavirus lockdown-hit segments lifted sentiments.
The BSE gauge surged 1,410.99 points or 4.94 per cent to settle at 29,946.77; while the Nifty shot up 323.60 points or 3.89 per cent to 8,641.45.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 484.78 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data. - PTI
Gujarat Gas (₹232.4): Buy
The stock of Gujarat Gas jumped 10 per cent on Thursday, breaking above a key immediate resistance at ₹222. This rally provides investors with a short-term perspective an opportunity to buy the stock at current levels. After a short-term downtrend from the key resistance level of ₹300, the stock found support at around ₹190 on Tuesday. Subsequently, the stock changed direction triggered by positive divergence in the daily relative strength index.
Broker's call: DCB Bank (Buy)
Centrum Broking
CMP: ₹81
Target: ₹131
Disbursements have stopped since the last 7-10 days and may be hampered for the next 30-45 days. Since lawyers and registrars have stopped working, some legal aspects relating to disbursements are not possible. Major banking work happens in the last two weeks of the quarter. Although it would be difficult to assess the impact of the lockdown, the bank nevertheless is expecting a forbearance for the entire banking system.
Rupee up 54 paise at 74.61 against dollar
Rupee gained in the early trade on Friday. It has opened higher by 54 paise at 74.61 per dollar against previous close of 75.15.
The Indian rupee surged by another 73 paise to 75.15 against the US dollar on Thursday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced various welfare measures to tide through the coronavirus crisis.
Dow wraps up strongest three days since 1931
he Dow Jones Industrial Average wrapped up its strongest three days in nine decades on Thursday as record weekly U.S. jobless claims came in below investors' worst fears and the focus stayed on an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus awaiting approval by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Dow finished up 21% from its Monday low, establishing it in a bull market, according to a widely used definition. It was the index's strongest three-day percentage increase since 1931.
Asia shares rise on more stimulus hopes but dollar loses steam
Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors wagered policymakers will roll out more stimulus measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic after U.S. unemployment filings surged to a record.
Behind the scene: How BSE, NSE have kept the markets running amid national lockdown
The executives at two of India’s largest exchanges have ‘pulled out all the stops’ to keep India’s stock markets open for trading in times of nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
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