Markets Live: Sensex ends 97 points higher in volatile trade; Nifty up by 31 points

Rupee trades lower at 74.01 in late session

At 4 p.m, the rupee was quoted lower at 74.01 on Monday on strong dollar demand amidst strengthening of the US dollar against other major currencies.

The rupee weakened to 74.10 intraday due to unabated foreign fund outflows. According to forex dealers, the dollar’s strength against major global currencies weighed on the rupee sentiment. Read More

Wiping off early losses, benchmark indices bounced back sharply in the closing session on Monday as banking, oil and gas, auto, healthcare and FMCG shares witnessed fresh spells of buying and short-covering by investors.

The BSE Sensex ended higher by 97.39 points or 0.28% at 34,474.38. The gauge had touched a low of 34,031.98 points in early trade. During intraday, the Sensex moved in volatile fashion touching an intraday high of 34,636.43 and a low of 33,974.66 in the afternoon trades, before closing at 34,474 points, moving in a broad range of 662 points.

Sectoral indices that traded in the positive territory were Oil and Gas, Bankex, Auto, and Energy in today's trading session.

While the BSE Auto index gained 108 points or 0.50% at 20, 083, the Oil and Gas index surged 401 points 12, 544.80, and the BSE Bankex rose 316 points at 27,543.

The Nifty 50 index closed at 10,348.05, gaining 31.60 points today.

Markets witnessed yo-yo movement in the late afternoon session on Monday. The Sensex after falling over 300 points in the afternoon session, bounced back sharply and was trading higher by 160 points, while the Nifty gained 57 points, after falling 97 points.

The sector which bucked the negative trend was the Oil and Gas sector index. The index held on to its early gains  and was trading at 12,441, up by 298 points or 2.85% over its previous close.

The BSE Sensex fell nearly 300 points and the NSE Nifty dropped by 88 points in the late afternoon trade, as key heavyweight stocks gave up their gains following fresh bouts of selling by institutions and investors.

The Sensex declined 285 points to trade at 34, 091 and the Nifty lost 97 points at 10, 218.

Major losers that dragged the indices were Vedanta, which lost 12%, Hindalco, down over 9.50%, Bajaj Finance nearly 5% and HDFC lost 3.45%

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Re drops to 74.08

The rupee extended its losses in afternoon trade on Monday At 2.10 pm it was quoting at 74.08 to the dollar. It had dropped by 14 paise to 73.90 per dollar in early trade on Monday due to strengthening of dollar against other currencies overseas and unabated foreign fund outflows. Read more

Profit-booking weak global cues pull gold futures down to Rs 31,427

Gold prices drifted lower by Rs 216 to Rs 31,427 per 10 gram at the futures trade due to profit-booking by investors and a weak trend overseas. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in December was trading down Rs 216 or 0.68 per cent at Rs 31,427 per 10 gram with a business turnover of 673 lots. The metal for delivery in February next year, too, fell Rs 186 or 0.58 per cent to Rs 31,770 per 10 gram in 39 lots. Read more

Aavas Financiers shares plunge 9.5%

Shares of housing finance company Aavas Financiers made a weak debut at the bourses on Monday, plunging 9.5 per cent from the issue price of Rs 821 per share. The stock listed at Rs 758, falling 7.67 per cent from the issue price on BSE. Read more

Stock markets showed volatile movements during intraday due to fresh selling in Realty, Metal, Power and Capital Goods stocks. While the S&P BSE Realty declined 3%, BSE Metal was down 2.90% and Power has lost 1.75%.

However, Oil and Gas index maintained the gains made initially, with the index showing 1.67% increase in today's trading session.

Top gainers today were Yes Bank, Reliance,  Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Asian Paint and SBI.

Among the major losers in the Sensex were Vedanta, Axis Bank,  Tata Steel, HDFC and Tata Steel.

Weekly Trading Guide

SBI (₹257.8)

SBI surged 5 per cent in the initial part of the week but failed to sustain higher. The stock reversed sharply lower from the week’s high of ₹278, giving up all its gains, and closed 2.7 per cent lower for the week. The ₹275-277 resistance band has held very well. The outlook is bearish.

ITC (₹277.1)

ITC plummeted over 6 per cent last week, breaking below the key support level of ₹290. It is now hovering above the key ₹274-273 support zone. The price action in the coming days will need a close watch.

Infosys (₹721.8)

It was a volatile week for Infosys. The stock surged over 3 per cent in the initial part of the week and fell sharply, giving up all the gains to touch a low of ₹702.9. But it bounced back in the final trading day to close 0.8 per cent lower for the week. The outlook remains unclear.

RIL (₹1,049.8)

RIL witnessed a free fall last week. The stock tumbled over 16 per cent, crashing below the crucial long-term support level of ₹1,180. The sharp drop wiped out the gains of the last couple of months. Immediate support is at ₹1,046.

Tata Steel (₹569.5)

Tata Steel fell for the second consecutive week. The stock declined 2 per cent last week, triggering the stop-loss on long positions. A dip to test the ₹555 — the 100-week moving average — and ₹550 — a trend line support — is likely in the near term. If Tata Steel snaps back from the ₹555-550 support zone, a relief rally to ₹575 or ₹580 is possible.

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Gati shares tank 13% as CARE cuts credit rating

Shares of Gati Ltd fell nearly 13 per cent to their lowest in more than a week on Monday, as CARE had downgraded the logistics company's bank facilities on Friday. The rating agency has cut its rating on Gati’s long-term bank facilities to BBB from A-, and downgraded the short-term bank facilities to A3+ from A2+. Read more

Nifty call: Buy on dips with stop-loss at 10,335

Nifty 50 October futures (10,364)

Taking bearish cues from the Asian markets, the Sensex and the Nifty started the session on a negative note. The Nikkei 225 index has slipped 191 points or 0.8 per cent to 23,783 and the Hang Seng index has also slumped 250 points or 0.9 per cent to 26,322 levels.

The domestic benchmark indices opened the session with a gap-down and extended their decline. However, witnessing buying interest at lower levels, the indices bounced back into positive territory.

The market breadth of the Nifty index is marginally biased towards advances. The Nifty October futures contract began the session with a wide gap-down at 10,273 and continued to decline. However, after marking an intra-day low at 10,232, the contract bounced back due to short-covering and buying interest at lower levels.  Read more

National interest prompted Re 1 roll-back: HPCL chief

Public sector oil marketing companies will continue to maintain a discount of Re 1 a litre on petrol and diesel, till asked not to by the Centre. Speaking on the sidelines of the Energy Forum, Hindustan Petroleum Chairman, M K Surana, told  BusinessLine , “The price cut has been effected as per the directives of the Finance Minister. It is in the national interest.” Read more

Indices in the green at mid-session

The benchmark indices were trading in positive territory near mid-session on Monday. The Sensex stood at 34,560, up 183 points or 0.53 per cent higher. The Nifty 50 was at 10,377 points or 61 points higher. This represented a gain of 0.59 per cent.

The top gainers on the Nifty 50 were :

The laggards on the Nifty 50 were:

The BSE sectoral indices were mixed. Among the top losers were the IT, realty and technology sectors. Oil and gas and banking sector stocks were the top gainers.

London aluminium prices fall over 3%

London aluminium prices fell more than 3 per cent on Monday after a Brazilian court approved emergency waste measures that could allow the world's biggest alumina refinery to resume production. Read more

IFC raises $131.5 mn rupiah-denominated offshore green bonds

The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's investment arm, has raised 2 trillion rupiah ($131.5 million) via green bonds to help fund infrastructure and climate-related projects in Indonesia. The bonds will be the first green offshore debt denominated in rupiah sold by a multilateral development bank, the IFC said in a statement today. Read more

Dollar edges up as China eases policy, yuan eases

The dollar edged higher on Monday as China followed an easing in domestic policy by allowing its yuan to fall, though the drop was not as sharp as some had feared. The moves were limited by a lack of liquidity with Japan on holiday and the US bond market on a break. Read more

Ayushman: With ceiling price not clear, insurers unsure of claims burden

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Morning trade

Markets recovered early losses, mainly lifted by the gains in the oil and gas stocks in early trades today.  The Sensex was quoting at 34,502, up 125 points or 0.36 per cent, while the Nifty was up 27 points at 10,344 or 0.27 per cent higher.

Helped by the sharp rally in index weighted stocks such as RIL, SBI, ONGC, ICICI Bank, and automobile stocks such as Eicher Motors the Sensex moved into the green.

The BSE Oil & Gas gained 332.18 points or 2.74% at 12, 475.77.

Wipro hits 41/2 week low

Shares of Wipro Ltd fell as much as 3.29 per cent to Rs 314.75, its lowest since September 5. At 10.45 am, the stock was quoted at Rs 318.55 on the BSE and was exactly trading at the support level. Read more

YES Bank shares jump 4%

Shares of private sector lender, YES Bank Ltd, rose as much as 3.8 per cent to Rs 213.9 as the bank had on Friday gave details of its search and selection committee to find a new chief executive after the central bank trimmed incumbent Rana Kapoor's term. Read more

Will oil go up to $100 a barrel?

For India, which imports more than 80 per cent of its crude-oil requirement, the past year-and-a-half has not been a good one on energy pricing. Global oil price (Brent) and, along with it, the price of the Indian crude-oil basket has nearly doubled since mid-June last year — from about $45 a barrel to $85 now. This is a sharp reversal from the rout that saw oil prices crash from about $115 a barrel in mid-2014 to less than $30 in early 2016, before recovering to $45-55 levels. Read more

Why FPI inflows may shrink further

The sharp fall in the stock market over the past month, coupled with the slide in the rupee, has once again turned the focus to foreign portfolio outflows from Indian markets this year. Read more

How to pick low-risk debt mutual funds

The uncertainty created by the IL&FS crisis in the bond market last month has made debt-fund investors jittery. While many debt funds, including liquid funds, witnessed a drop of over one per cent in their NAV (net asset value) on the day the IL&FS bonds were downgraded, the NAVs of some funds fell further by up to 5.7 per cent in the following days as IL&FS Financial Services, a subsidiary of IL&FS whose instruments these debt funds held, defaulted on its commercial paper repayments. Read more

Strong dollar, FII outflows pull rupee down 14 paise

The rupee dropped by another 14 paise to 73.90 per dollar in early trade Monday due to strengthening of dollar against other currencies overseas and unabated foreign fund outflows. The dollar gained strength as China’s central bank eased its domestic policy to support the economy. Read more

IL&FS effect: NBFCs may sell receivables for quick liquidity

Faced with the risk that their short-term liabilities may not be rolled over, non-banking finance companies may step up securitisation of their receivables to pull in liquidity to pay off short-term debt. Read more

Indices recover from early losses

The benchmark indices were trading in positive territory after opening in the red on Monday. The Sensex was up 25 points at 34,402 or 0.07 per cent higher, while the Nifty 50 was quoting at 10,322, up 5.85  points or 0.06 per cent higher. 

The top gainers and losers were as follows:

The sectoral indices were mixed. The power, auto, FMCG and healthcare sector were the gainers, while the IT, technology, capital goods, consumer durables, realty and metal indices trended lower.

Dos and don'ts in a falling market

Indian equity investors have gone through one of the worst weeks in recent memory with the Sensex and the Nifty shedding more than 5 per cent in the past week. For investors who have just joined the stock-market fraternity, this would have come as an unpleasant surprise. Read more

Fund raising via IPOs down 53%

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The benchmark indices the Sensex and Nifty extended their losses in the early session. The Sensex was quoting at 34,073 or 303 points lower on its previous close, and the Nifty was at 10,211 down 104 points or 1.01 per cent lower. The top gainers were YES Bank, CIL, ONGC, SBI and Kotak Bank. The laggards were VEDL, Wipro, STata Steel,  HDFC and TCS.

China stock tumble

China's stocks fell sharply on Monday despite Beijing's weekend announcement that it will slash the level of cash that banks must hold as reserves, a sign of underlying investor anxiety over a heated Sino-US trade war. Read more

Re opens at 73.95 against dollar

Rupee opened the week lower at 73.95 against the US dollar. Last Friday, the rupee opened a tad strong at 73.56 a dollar against its previous record low closing of 73.58. It hovered in a range of 74.23 and 73.42 before ending the session down by 18 paise at 73.76.

Opening bell

The Sensex opened the week lower by 58 points at 34,318.  On the NSE, Nifty 50 opened down by 30 points at 10,285. Advancing shares were 16, and decliners were 33 at the opening on Nifty. The Sensex tanked 792.17 points or 2.25 per cent to close at a near 6-month low of 34,376.99 last Friday, while the Nifty slumped 282.80 points or 2.67 per cent to 10,316.45.

Crude oil drops more than 1%

Brent crude oil prices fell by more than 1 per cent on Monday after Washington said it may grant waivers to sanctions against Iran's oil exports next month, and as Saudi Arabia was said to be replacing any potential shortfall from Iran. Read more

Index Outlook

Indian investors would have been rattled by the extremely traumatic week that went by, perhaps one of the worst in recent times. The large downward gaps formed on Thursday and Friday, and the extremely weak close for the week, indicate that it will be a struggle for the market to regain momentum in the near term. Read more

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