Closing Bell: BSE benchmark Sensex skyrocketed 793 points on Monday, led by gains in banking stocks after the government rolled back the enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors, and unveiled a slew of measures to boost the economy.

After gyrating 1,052 points, the 30-share Sensex ended 792.96 points, or 2.16 per cent, higher at 37,494.12. It hit an intra-day high of 37,544.48 and low of 36,492.65.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty reclaimed the 11,000-level, advancing 228.50 points, or 2.11 per cent, to 11,057.85. During the day, it climbed a peak of 11,070.30 and touched a low of 10,756.55.

Both benchmarks Sensex and Nifty have logged their best single-day gains since May 20.

Indian equities also managed to keep within bounds the global negative sentiment emanating from intensified trade war rhetoric between the two major economies, the US and China.

Yes Bank topped the gainers’ list on the Sensex. It was followed by HDFC, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, L&T, SBI, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank -- rallying up to 5.24 per cent.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, Vedanta, RIL, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto fell up to 2.01 per cent.

“Indian markets opened higher following policy stimulus announcement by Finance Minister on Friday with a raft of measures,” said Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research (Investment Services) - AVP Equity Research, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.

Asian stocks

Asian stocks were battered after US President Donald Trump fuelled the trade war with China by imposing more tariffs on Chinese goods, traders said.

Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Kospi and Nikkei ended significantly lower.

Later in the day, Trump said that the US and Chinese trade negotiators would “very shortly” resume talks in what he described as a breakthrough in the two economic superpowers’ trade war.

“Domestic markets recovered from the day’s low in afternoon session as news of China’s willingness to negotiate on US-China trade raised hopes of traders with added to the already positive domestic sentiments,” Solanki said.

UBS underweight on equities for the first time since Eurozone crisis

UBS Global Wealth Management, which oversees more than $2.48 trillion in invested assets, has gone underweight on equities for the first time since the Eurozone crisis.

The Swiss asset manager cut its stock positioning relative to high-grade bonds to reduce its exposure to trade wars and political uncertainty, Global Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele wrote in a note to investors. Read more here

Markets update: The benchmark indices recovered from the day's low and trades sharply higher with the Sensex rising 697.01 points or 1.98 percent to 37,398.17 and the Nifty50 rising 140.35 points or 1.30 percent to 10,969.70.

All the sectoral indices are trading in green except for metal stocks which fell 1.85 per cent.

Top Nifty gainers/losers at 2 pm

Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals (₹149.1): Buy

The stock of Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals gained 9.7 per cent , accompanied by above-average volume, on Friday, bouncing from a significant long-term support at ₹135.

With this rally, the stock managed to erode the intra-week loss, and closed in green, forming a hammer candlestick pattern in the weekly chart, which is a bullish reversal pattern. This, coupled with a reversal from the long-term support, provides investors with a medium-term horizon — an opportunity to buy the stock at current levels. Read more on the chart focus here

Nifty Call: Buy in declines with stop-loss at 10,900

After a gap-up opening, the Sensex and the Nifty witnessed a sharp fall in the initial hour of today's session. But, subsequently, both the benchmark indices began to trend up amid bearish cues from weak Asian markets. The Nikkei 225 has slumped 2 per cent to 20,261 and Hang Seng index has declined 2.9 per cent to 25,419 in today's trading session.  Read more on the technicals here

Indices gain over 1%

The 30-share BSE index Sensex recovered from the day's low to trade in green in the afternoon trade. 

At 12.50 pm, the Sensex gained 564.12 points or 1.54 per cent to 37,265.28 led by the gainers in the banking space, that was trading higher by over 2 per cent. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE index Nifty gained 140.30 points or 1.30 per cent to 10,969.70.

BHEL bags orders worth Rs 2,500 cr from NTPC for emission control systems

Amidst stiff competitive bidding, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured two more orders for emission control equipment from NTPC's thermal power plants. The value of the orders is estimated at around Rs 2,500 crore.

The orders involve supply and installation of the Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) systems for 13 coal-based units at 2,600 MW Korba STPS Stage I, II & Ill in Chhattisgarh and 2,100 MW Ramagundam STPS Stage I & II in Telangana.

Damen Shipyards selects TCS's ERP on cloud platform for greater scalability

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on Monday announced that Damen Shipyards, has selected its ERP on Cloud Platform, a reliable, scalable, and secure cloud-based solution for enterprise operations.

TCS's ERP platform is a pre-built, hosted enterprise application powered by Tier 1 ERP systems to help fill functional gaps, improve business processes, and enable efficient global business services. The platform spans processes such as procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, sales and distribution, customer service, human capital management, finance and accounting, budgeting and planning.

Technicals: Snowman Logistics (₹28.3)

The stock is in a downtrend in all-time frames. Within the downtrend, it has been in a broad sideways consolidation phase in the band between ₹26 and ₹39 since September 2018.

A downward break of ₹26 can drag the stock down to ₹23 and ₹20 in the medium term. On the upside, there is an immediate resistance at ₹31 and a rally above this level can extend the corrective upmove to ₹35.

Asian Paints loses colour

The stock, thereafter, accelerated and recorded a new high at ₹1,609 recently and started to take a breather by moving sideways. It hovers well above the 50- and 200-day moving averages.

The short-term uptrend has been up since the stock took support at ₹1,300 in early July, but this trend is now weakening. Read more on the technicals here

USFDA issues one observation for Unichem’s Ghaziabad formulations facility

Drug firm Unichem Laboratories on Monday said the US health regulator has issued one observation after the inspection of its formulations facility at Ghaziabad.

“The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted inspection at the company’s Ghaziabad formulation facility between August 19, 2019 to August 23, 2019. The inspection was a routine Good manufacturing practice (GMP) surveillance,” Unichem said in a regulatory filing.

Stimulus package: How the rollback of surcharge works

To douse the raging fire in the equity markets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a partial rollback of the enhanced surcharge that she had introduced in the Budget in July.

In the July Budget, the surcharge on tax had been increased from 15 per cent to 25 per cent for those whose taxable income is more than ₹ 2 crore and up to ₹ 5 crore. And for those whose taxable income is more than ₹ 5 crore, the surcharge had been increased from 15 per cent to 37 per cent. This change applied to individuals, HUF, association of persons, the body of individuals and artificial judicial persons. Read more on the insights here

NTPC introduces work-from-home policy

The state-run power company NTPC has introduced the work-from-home policy. In its initial phase, only 18 ‘Officer’ Grade employees, across 10 cities, have been ordered to work-from-home. The initiative has been introduced ostensibly for optimising the manpower of Commercial Department and Inspection Offices. Read the full story here

Bonds rally as Government avoids large fiscal stimulus

Sovereign bonds in India rose after the government desisted from providing a large fiscal boost to the economy, easing fears it may borrow more to fund the stimulus. The rupee weakened in line with emerging-market peers after the escalation in the Sino-American trade war. Click here to read more on the debt market

Future Perfect: Consider a short strangle in DLF

The stock of DLF now rules at a crucial level . On Friday, the stock bounced back, gaining 5 per cent, to close at a key support level of ₹152. The stock has to sustain the level, as one more conclusive fall below ₹152 could drag DLF to ₹112. It finds an immediate resistance at ₹172, which is slightly far away from the current level. Read more on the F&O pointers here

L&T bags ‘significant’ order from NTPC

Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday said its power business has bagged a “significant” order from NTPC to set up flue gas desulphurisation system at Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh.

Prospects to improve in the second half for IT firms

The main theme driving revenue growth for the top-tier IT companies in the first quarter of 2019-20 has been the digital business. Digital services and engagement with customers has propelled the revenue growth of almost all top five Indian IT software and services companies. Revenue growth of their core IT service businesses has been flat for most players. Read more on the sectoral outlook here

Markets update: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex rallied over 662 points in opening session on Monday after the government rolled back the enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors, and unveiled a slew of measures to boost the economy.

At 10.05 am, the 30-share index, however, pared initial gains as investors began booking profits at higher levels. The index was trading 121.52 points lower at 36,579.64.

The broader Nifty too surged over 170 points to briefly reclaim the 11,000 mark, but gave up the gains to trade 26.60 points down at 10,802.75.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed higher by 228.23 points or 0.63 per cent at 36,701.16, and the Nifty rose 88 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 10,829.35.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included SBI, M&M, HDFC twins, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, L&T, ITC and Axis Bank, rallying up to 3 per cent.

On the other hand, Vedanta, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech and Hero MotoCorp fell up to 4 per cent.

Gold touches over 6-year peak as investors bet big on the safe haven asset

Gold took a stride toward $1,600 an ounce as the U.S.-China trade war worsened, hurting the outlook for global growth and boosting demand for the traditional haven as risk assets suffered.

Bullion futures rallied as much as 1.8 per cent to $1,565 an ounce on the Comex, the highest since 2013. Silver was also favoured, with spot prices up as much as 2.1 per cent. The advances in the weeks opening session followed gains on Friday. Read more here

Apollo Tyres: Riding the slowdown

New vehicle sales in India have been nothing to write home about in the last few months. Although a few measures have been announced by the government to indirectly stimulate demand, the absence of GST rate cuts or a scrappage policy for commercial vehicles means that new vehicles may not fly off the shelves immediately. Read more here

Oil falls as trade war raises recession fears

Oil prices fell on Monday, pushing US crude to its lowest in more than two weeks, as an intensifying US-China trade war knocked confidence in the global economy.

Brent crude was down 63 cents, or 1.1%, at $58.71 a barrel by 0232 GMT, having earlier touched $58.24, the lowest since Aug. 15. Read more here

Rupee opening: The rupee opened 37 paise down at 72.03 against the US dollar.

Opening bell: The benchmark indices are trading higher with Nifty above 11,100 level.

The benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are trading stronger on Monday on back of stimulus package announced by the government on Aug. 23.

At 9.15 am, the Sensex was up 662 points at 37,363.95 The Nifty was at 11,135.30, up 305.95 points or 2.83 per cent higher.

Downtrend intact in Tata Steel

The downtrend remains intact in Tata Steel. The stock tumbled 5 per cent last week. It has plummeted over 30 per cent over the last eight weeks. The support in the ₹330-320 zone mentioned last week is holding well as of now. But the indicators on the charts are bearish. The 21-week moving average is on the verge of crossing below the 200-week moving average. This is a negative signal — the upside could be limited.

As such, it can continue to remain under pressure and any intermediate bounce could be short-lived. An immediate resistance is in the ₹353-355 region which can cap the upside in the near term and keep the stock under pressure. An eventual break below ₹320 will see the fall extending to ₹300 and even lower going forward.

As reiterated in this column over the past few weeks, the current downtrend — which has been in place since 2018 — looks strong. It has the potential to drag Tata Steel lower to ₹250-230 in the coming months.

Near-term outlook is unclear for RIL

RIL fell sharply by 4 per cent intra-week to make a low of ₹1,226.8. However, it managed to claw back on Friday, recovering all the loss. RIL has been stuck in a sideways range between ₹1,225 and ₹1,304 over the past couple of weeks. This leaves the near-term outlook mixed.

As mentioned last week, RIL can consolidate sideways between ₹1,215 and ₹1,305. A breakout on either side of ₹1,215 or ₹1,305 will determine the direction of the next move. Though the strong bounce on Friday keeps the bias positive, weakness in the broader markets may play spoil sport.

As such, the possibility of the stock declining below ₹1,215 in the coming days cannot be ruled out. Such a break will bring renewed pressure on the stock and increase the chances of it revisiting ₹1,150 and ₹1,100 levels in the coming weeks.

On the other hand, if RIL breaks above ₹1,305 decisively, it will gain fresh momentum. In such a scenario, the stock can surge to ₹1,400. An eventual break above ₹1,400 will then pave way for a further rally to ₹1,480 over the medium term.

Infosys to remain range-bound

Infosys broke the ₹755-805 range on the upside last week, but failed to sustain higher. The stock made a high of ₹809.95 and came off slightly from there to close just below the upper end of the ₹755-805 range.

The stock was up 3.5 per cent last week. A strong break and a decisive close above ₹805 are needed to confirm the range breakout. A key support is at ₹789. As long as Infosys remains above this support, there is a strong likelihood of the stock breaking the range above ₹805. Such a break will boost the momentum and take the stock higher to ₹850 and ₹870 in the coming weeks. But if the stock remains below ₹805, a narrow range-bound move between ₹789 and ₹805 is possible in the near term.

A break below ₹789 will reduce the chances of the stock breaching ₹805. Such a break will see an initial dip to ₹785. A further break below ₹785 will then strengthen the downmove and drag the stock lower to ₹768 and ₹763. In that case, the ₹755-805 range will continue to remain intact.

ITC breaks crucial long-term support

ITC is under pressure. The stock plummeted 6.8 per cent last week. This sharp fall has dragged the stock well below the crucial long-term support level of ₹240. We will have to wait and see if ITC sustains below ₹240 and confirms the break.

It has to reverse sharply higher and close decisively above ₹243 to get a breather. In such scenario, the chances of seeing a further fall will get reduced, and a corrective rally to ₹255 and ₹260 is possible. But an inability to bounce above ₹243 can take ITC lower to the next key support level of ₹228.5.

If it manages to hold above this support, it can consolidate between ₹228 and ₹243 for some time. But as long as ITC trades below ₹243, it will remain under pressure. An eventual break below ₹228.5 will confirm the break of the long-term uptrend and intensify the fall further. Such a break will see the stock tumbling further towards the next major support levels of ₹211 and ₹207. It will also keep the possibilities high of the stock extending the fall even up to ₹200 and ₹190.

SBI can face resistance ahead

After taking a breather in the week earlier, SBI resumed its fall and tumbled 6.8 per cent last week. Though there is a possibility to see a near-term corrective bounce, the broader picture remains weak. A strong resistance at ₹280 can cap the rally. A consolidation between ₹260 and ₹280 for a week cannot be ruled out. The indicators on the charts remain bearish, keeping the doors open for further fall. The 21-day moving average has crossed below the 200-day moving average — a bearish cross-over indicating that the upside could be limited.

As such, SBI is likely to keep the downtrend intact and break below ₹260 in the coming days. Such a break can take the stock initially lower to ₹250-245. A further break below ₹245 will then increase the likelihood of the fall extending to ₹230. The broad region between ₹240 and ₹230 is a strong support zone which can halt the current downtrend. A corrective rally, thereafter, to ₹270-280 cannot be ruled out. But a strong break below ₹230 will increase the possibility of the stock tumbling further to ₹190-180 over the medium term.

More pain ahead for YES Bank investors

It was a nerve-wracking week for investors of  YES Bank . The stock has fallen by over 20 per cent, as irregularities and unauthorised transactions at CG Power and Industrial Solution, came to light. YES Bank holds 12.8 per cent stake in CG Power, which it acquired in May on invocation of pledged shares of its promoter, due to default of loan by Oyster Buildwell, a group company of Avantha Group (CG Power is part of Avantha Group). Read more on the insiight here

Index Outlook: Indices recover from a key base

The continued selling pressure in PSU banking stocks and the mid- and small-cap segments kept the bellwether indices — the Sensex and the Nifty — on selling mode last week.

The global markets were mixed during the week. Fears of a looming global recession fears and fading stimulus hopes had caused a sharp fall in the benchmarks on Thursday. However, the indices saw a respite and moved higher in anticipation of relief measures on Friday. After market hours, the Finance Minister announced a number of steps to give a push to the market and the economy. A key measure is the rolling back of the super-rich surcharge levied on capital gains in equity market for FPIs and domestic investors. Read more the technicals here

Asian shares sluggish, bonds bought amid trade gloom

Asian shares sank on Monday as the latest salvo in the Sino-US trade war shook confidence in the world economy and sent investors steaming to the safe harbours of sovereign bonds and gold, while slugging emerging market currencies.

Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury debt dropped to their lowest since mid-2016, while gold hit its highest since April 2013 as risk was shunned. Read more here