Markets Live: Metal, IT stocks push Sensex up 60 points; Nifty closes at 10,417

Closing bell

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended higher by over 60 points in a see-saw trade, led by gains in metal, IT, TECk and consumer durables stocks amid weak European cues.

The Sensex resumed higher at 33,970.35, touched the day's high of 33,981.54 and a low of 33,750.74. It ended up by 60.19 points or 0.18 per cent at 33,940.44. The gauge had gained 861.18 points in the previous four sessions.

Sensex gainers, losers

 

The Nifty , after moving between 10,428.15 and 10,355.60 on alternate bouts of selling and buying, closed higher by 14.9 points or 0.14 per cent at 10,417.15.

Top 10 Nifty gainers

Top 10 Nifty losers

 

According to brokers, sustained buying by DIIs helped the indices ended in the positive zone. Investors are focusing on key macroeconomic data, including retail inflation and industrial production numbers due tomorrow and corporate results starting Friday.

DIIs were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 653.65 crore yesterday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold to the tune of Rs 684.99 crore.

Bullion prices

Gold prices surged Rs 300 to Rs 31,850 per ten gram at the bullion market on persistent buying by local jewellers amid a firm global trend. Read more

 

European shares

European shares fell slightly on Wednesday in a broad-based pullback as escalating tensions in Syria added to market worries. Read more

 

 

Aditya Birla Sun Life

Considering the volatility in the markets, a fund that predominantly invests in large-cap stocks is a safe bet for conservative investors. Aditya Birla Sun Life Top 100 fits the bill. Read more

 

 

Pre-close trade

The Sensex was trading up by 68.30 points or 0.2 per cent at 33,948.55 and the Nifty up 12.15 points or 0.12 per cent at 10,414.40.

Top five Sensex gainers were Sun Pharma, TCS, HUL, Reliance and Tata Steel, while the major losers were YES Bank, Adani Ports, SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

 

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal, IT, TECk and consumer durables remained investors' favourite, while oil & gas, PSU and banking succumbed to heavy selling pressure.

 

Read  the fine-print on pension plans

Good retirement planning addresses this risk and factors in two stages — fund accumulation and annuity. Fund accumulation is the process of building up your savings whereas annuity is the process of drawing down. Read more

 

Right time for Kotak Bank to buy Axis Bank

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Future provisions: The skeletons in banks’ closet

Banking stocks have zoomed 40-50 per cent in one single day, euphoric over the Centre’s ₹88,000-odd crore capital infusion into public sector banks; only to fall like dominoes, as one of the biggest scams unravelled in the second largest state-owned bank. Read more

 

Heavy buying in metal, IT and TECk stocks helped Sensex gain nearly 80 points in the mid-session trade. At 1.45 pm, the BSE index was trading up by 73.73 points or 0.22 per cent at 33,953.68 and the NSE index up 9.85 points or 0.09 per cent at 10,412.10.

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index gained the most followed by IT, TECk and consumer durables.

 

Top five Sensex gainers were Sun Pharma, HUL, TCS, Reliance and ONGC, while the major losers were Adani Ports, SBI, YES Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.

 

Nifty sectoral indices

Top 10 Nifty gainers

Top 10 Nifty losers

 

Nifty 50 April Futures (10,391)

Traders with a high-risk appetite can go long on a rally above 10,400 with a fixed stop-loss at 10,385 levels. Key supports are at 10,375 and 10,360 levels.  Read more

 

Tatas too unlikely to bid for Air India

Tata Group, widely seen as a potential suitor for Air India, is unlikely to consider a bid for the state-run carrier as the government's terms are just too onerous. Read more

 

Domestic shares were trading flat due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors amid firm Asian cues . Investors were keeping an eye on retail inflation data and industrial production data due tomorrow and corporate results starting Friday.

Sentiment was also subdued on concerns that inflation worries could resurface on the back of rising crude oil prices. Brent crude futures surged more than 3 per cent on Tuesday to their highest since late 2014, at $71.34 a barrel.

At 1.10 pm, the Sensex was trading up 15.50 points or 0.05 per cent at 33,895.75 and the Nifty down 10.55 points or 0.1 per cent at 10,391.70.

Financials were the top losers with the Nifty PSU Bank index down 2 per cent after gaining more than 7 percent in the last four sessions.

ICICI Bank Ltd dropped as much as 2.2 per cent and State Bank of India declined 2.5 per cent, heading for their first session of fall in five.

OMCs slumped following reports that the government is asking these firms to absorb price hikes.

“Rising oil prices will bring back inflation worries and currency fluctuations are something to be looked into following the easing up of trade tensions, especially with China being the largest reserve for dollars,” said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Asset Management.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump both struck conciliatory tones on Tuesday, which analysts hoped could open the door for negotiations to avert a trade war.

“We will see stock-specific movements as earnings come in,” said Gupta. Software services exporter Infosys Ltd will kick-start the January-March corporate results season on Friday.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 684.99 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought equities to the tune of Rs 653.65 crore yesterday.

LME aluminium up for 6th straight day

Three-month aluminium on the LME was trading at $2,204 at 0151 GMT, up 0.1 per cent from the previous close but down from a 10-week high of $2,242 hit during electronic trading on Tuesday after the LME said it would take steps to keep Rusal aluminium out of its warehouses. Read more

 

 

Crude oil eases away from 2014 highs

Brent crude futures rose to $70.78 per barrel at 0154 GMT, down 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, from their last close. Brent surged more than 3 per cent on Tuesday to hit its highest level since late 2014, at $71.34 a barrel. Read more

 

 

Gold hits 1-week high

Spot gold was on track for a fourth straight session of gains, up 0.1 per cent at $1,340.64 an ounce as of 0320 GMT. Prices earlier rose to a one-week high of $1,342.64 an ounce. Read more

 

Forex market

The dollar traded near a two-week low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday after Chinese President Xi Jinping's promise to cut import tariffs eased concerns about a US-China trade conflict. Read more

 

 

 

NSE index may retest support near 9,950

The bounce that the index got from the 9,950 level might have run its course and the index may drop to test these levels once again, as suggested by its technical chart. Read more

 

 

Oil marketing shares slump

Shares of oil marketing companies slumped after a media report said that the government has asked OMCs to absorb Rs 1 per litre price hike. Read more

 

The Sensex and Nifty were trading marginally down due to profit-booking and lack of directional cues from global markets. At 11.25 am, the BSE index was down 12.13 points or 0.04 per cent at 33,868.12 and the NSE index down 15.1 points or 0.15 per cent at 10,387.15.

Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas fell the most by 1.87 per cent, followed by PSU 1.63 per cent, banking 0.8 per cent and infrastructure 0.24 per cent. On the other hand, metal index was up 1.41 per cent, IT 0.96 per cent, TECk 0.89 per cent and consumer durables 0.18 per cent. 

 

Top five Sensex gainers were ONGC, Sun Pharma, Reliance, TCS and Tata Steel, while the major losers were Adani Ports, SBI, YES Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

 

Mahanagar Gas sinks to 1-year low

Shares of Mahanagar Gas fell as much as 4.2 per cent to a one-year low of Rs 905 as BG Asia Pacific Holdings is selling its stake in the company. Read more

 

Fortis Healthcare trims early gains

Shares of Fortis Healthcare jumped as much as 4 per cent to Rs 152.30, its highest since March 27, in early trade as Manipal Hospitals has raised the offer price. However, the shares trimmed their early gains and were trading down by 0.41 per cent at Rs 141.80 on the BSE. Read more

 

 

SGX to list Indian equity derivative products

The Singapore Exchange would list Indian equity derivative products in June, nearly two months after India's three main bourses had announced they would stop licensing their indexes to overseas exchanges. Read more

 

Asian markets

Asian stocks rose modestly, paring earlier gains as optimism that trade ties between Washington and Beijing were on the mend gave way to questions about the next phase of the diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two countries. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.35 per cent higher. Read more

 

How real estate fared mutual funds

Real estate is among the favourite investment options for most people. Let’s look at some facts and figure to understand how real estate as an asset class has performed as compared to mutual funds. Click here to read more

 

MCX copper

The recent upward reversal from ₹425 is technically significant. This bounce has happened from a key trend-line as well the 200-day moving average support, both poised at around ₹435. This leaves the short-term outlook positive for the contract. Read more

 

Moderate rise in brokerage income seen

After stellar growth in financial year 2017-18, the broking industry is expected to register only moderate income growth in the current financial year. This is due to an “elongated period of volatility, along with possible correction in valuations over the near term,” says ICRA. Read more

 

 

Muthoot Finance NCD issue

The non-convertible debenture issue of Muthoot Finance, which closed on the second day yesterday, has received overwhelming response from HNI and retail investors. The ₹3,000-crore NCD issue received bids for ₹3,672 crore. Read more

India's economic growth forecast

India’s economic growth is expected to rebound to 7.3 per cent this fiscal and further to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20 with increased productivity post GST and investment revival due to banking reform. Read more

 

The Sensex and Nifty turned flat due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors and lack of directional cues from global markets.

The BSE index was trading down by 17.73 points or 0.05 per cent at 33,862.52 and the NSE index up 0.75 points or 0.01 per cent at 10,403.

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index gained the most by 1.43 per cent, IT 0.9 per cent, TECk 0.8 per cent and oil & gas 0.48 per cent. On the other hand, banking index fell 0.66 per cent, FMCG 0.24 per cent, auto 0.12 per cent and PSU 0.01 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were ONGC, Sun Pharma, TCS, Tata Steel and Infosys, while the major losers were Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and YES Bank.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.35 per cent higher.

Day Trading Guide

Given below are supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading:

₹1919 • HDFC Bank

 

₹1114 • Infosys

 

Click here to view the full guide

Wall Street ends higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 428.9 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 24,408, the S&P 500 gained 43.71 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 2,656.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 143.96 points, or 2.07 per cent, to 7,094.30. Read more

 

The BSE index opened higher by 90.15 points at 33,970.35 against the previous close of 33,880.25 and the NSE index up by 25.9 points at 10,428.15 against 10,402.25.

Today's stock pick

Manappuram Finance (₹122.7)

Investors with a short-term view can buy the stock at current levels. The short-term trend has been up for the stock since taking support at ₹101 in late March.  Read more