Markets Live: Sensex ends higher by 113 points on macro data; Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank top gainers

Closing bell

The Sensex closed higher by 112.78 points or 0.33 per cent at 34,305.43 and the Nifty ended up 47.75 points or 0.46 per cent at 10,528.35.

Domestic sentiment was buoyed by a slew of positive macroeconomic data that revived investors sentiment.

According to government data, WPI inflation eased marginally to 2.47 per cent in March on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables.

Besides, reflecting further improvement in the economic situation, industrial production grew by a healthy 7.1 per cent in February while the key retail inflation slipped to a five-month low of 4.28 per cent in March, official data showed on Thursday.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most followed by healthcare, FMCG and power.

Top five Sensex gainers were Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto and M&M, while the major losers were Tata Motors, Infosys, State Bank of India, ONGC and Tata Steel.

Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd were the top contributors to the indexes with gains of 1.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

Shares of Infosys, the country's second-largest IT services company, closed 3.3 per cent lower after declining as much as 6 per cent.

Global markets

European shares were broadly flat, however, adding to a mixed picture in Asian stock markets and suggesting that a degree of caution still prevails. Read more

 

ICICI Prudential open to acquisition

ICICI Prudential Life is open to inorganic growth provided any good opportunity comes up. Read more

 

Rupee - what lies ahead?

From one of the best performing emerging currency in 2017, the rupee has become one of the worst performers. The currency is down over 2 per cent against the dollar so far this year. This is despite the fact that the US dollar index has been broadly range-bound this year after having fallen sharply by 10 per cent in 2017. Read more

 

Bullion prices

Gold prices declined by Rs 100 to Rs 32,000 per ten gram at the bullion market. Silver followed suit and shed Rs 100 to Rs 39,900 per kg. Read more

 

 

Pre-close trade

The Sensex was trading higher by nearly 100 points on heavy buying in realty, healthcare and FMCG stocks.

The BSE index was trading up by 97.97 points or 0.29 per cent at 34,290.62 and the NSE index up 35.7 points or 0.34 per cent at 10,516.30.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained 1.79 per cent, healthcare 1.04 per cent, and FMCG 1.03 per cent. On the other hand, IT index fell 0.9 per cent, TECk 0.76 per cent, consumer durables 0.4 per cent and metal 0.27 per cent.

IT and TECk stocks succumbed to selling pressure due to lower margin guidance from Infosys.

Top five Sensex gainers were Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, M&M and HDFC, while the major losers were Tata Motors, Infosys, Wipro, State Bank of India and Tata Steel.

Domestic sentiment was buoyed as the WPI inflation eased marginally to 2.47 per cent in March on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables. On the basis of Wholesale Price Index, the inflation stood at 2.48 per cent in February and 5.11 per cent in March last year.

 

Fortis not ready for IHH deal

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FPI inflows in debt market

Foreign investors have pumped in Rs 3,935 crore into the Indian debt markets in the first fortnight of the month, driven by a stable currency and attractive bond yields. Read more

 

 

P-Note investments dip to 9-year low

Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) plunged to nearly nine-year low of Rs 1.06 lakh crore in the capital market at March-end amid stringent norms put in place by SEBI to check the misuse of these instruments. Read more

 

The Sensex recovered from intraday low of 33,899.34 as the WPI inflation eased marginally to 2.47 per cent in March on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables. On the basis of Wholesale Price Index, the inflation stood at 2.48 per cent in February and 5.11 per cent in March last year.

The BSE index was trading up by 61.71 points or 0.18 per cent at 34,254.36 and the NSE index up 26.25 points or 0.25 per cent at 10,506.85.

However, domestic sentiment was subdued due to weak global cues and lower margin guidance from Infosys.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index jumped 1.96 per cent, followed by healthcare 0.98 per cent, FMCG 0.8 per cent and capital goods 0.52 per cent. On the other hand, IT index fell 0.67 per cent, consumer durables 0.6 per cent, oil & gas 0.59 per cent and TECk 0.58 per cent.

 

Top five Sensex gainers were Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC, M&M and ITC, while the major losers were Tata Motors, Infosys, Wipro, Axis Bank and State Bank of India.

 

Tata Motors nosedives 5%

Shares of Tata Motors slumped as much as 5 per cent to Rs 338.85, its biggest intraday percentage loss since March 16 as JLR said it will cut jobs amid lower sales. Read more

 

UCO Bank tanks 18%

Shares of UCO Bank plunged nearly 18 per cent as the CBI has booked Arun Kaul, former chairman-cum-managing director of the lender, and others in connection with an alleged Rs 621-crore loan fraud. Read more

 

The Sensex and Nifty were trading flat after seven straight sessions of gains, their longest gaining run so far this year, dragged down by IT services firm Infosys Ltd as its margin forecast fell short of market expectations.

Broader weakness in Asian markets also weighed on the sentiment amid tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shedding 0.4 per cent.

At 1.15 pm, the BSE index was down 20.86 points or 0.06 per cent at 34,171.79 and the NSE index up 2.2 points or 0.02 per cent at 10,482.20.

“Indian markets opened with subdued note with weak global cues and announcement of Infosys numbers below market expectation. However, undertone remained positive with fairly good macros,” said Anita Gandhi, Whole Time Director - Arihant Capital Markets Ltd.

The future trajectory for the markets will depend more on corporate results, Gandhi added.

Infosys shares tumbled nearly 6 per cent after it forecast FY19 operating margin between 22 to 24 per cent, which Credit Suisse said was 100 basis points below expectations, and slightly lower than the previous year's 24.3 per cent.

Tata Motors Ltd stock was trading 4 per cent lower and was among the top percentage losers on both the indexes.

The automaker's unit Jaguar Land Rover will cut about 1,000 jobs and production at two of its English factories due to a fall in sales caused by uncertainty around Brexit and confusion over diesel policy, a source told Reuters.

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MFs: Retail investors make their mark

The market share of retail investors in overall assets under management of the mutual fund industry increased by three percentage points to 24 per cent in March, compared to 21 per cent logged in March 2017. Read more

 

Nifty 50 April Futures (10,475)

Short-term traders can go short on a reversal from 10,490-10,500 region. Stop-loss can be placed at 10,515 for the target of 10,455. Read more

 

UCO Bank tanks 18%

Shares of UCO Bank plunged nearly 18 per cent as the CBI has booked Arun Kaul, former chairman-cum-managing director of the lender, and others in connection with an alleged Rs 621-crore loan fraud. Read more

 

Fortis shares down over 2%

Shares of Fortis extended decline for a second straight day, by falling over 2 per cent, as IHH said that Fortis has indicated its inability to engage with it. Read more

 

Do you know what to do if your broker defaults?

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The Sensex was trading down by nearly 100 points owing to weak Asian cues after US-led strikes on Syrian targets fuelled fresh geopolitical concerns.

At 11.30 am, the BSE index was down 81.27 points or 0.24 per cent at 34,111.38 and the NSE index down 21.85 points or 0.21 per cent at 10,458.75.

Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index fell 0.92 per cent, followed by oil & gas 0.82 per cent, TECk 0.81 per cent and consumer durables 0.69 per cent. On the other hand, healthcare index was up 0.67 per cent, realty 0.42 per cent, FMCG 0.37 per cent and capital goods 0.11 per cent.

 

Top five Sensex losers were Tata Motors, Infosys, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and SBI, while the major gainers were TCS, HDFC, ITC, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp.

 

Shares of Infosys Ltd plunged nearly 6 per cent to Rs 1,102, their lowest since February 14. The stock posted biggest intraday percentage loss since August 18, 2017.

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M-cap of top-10 Sensex cos

Eight of the 10 most valued Indian companies together added Rs 83,672 crore to their market valuation for last week, with TCS leading the pack. Read more

 

Gruh Finance hits 12-week high

Shares of Gruh Finance hit 12-week high on upbeat results. The stock jumped as much as 6.52 per cent to Rs 652.5, its highest since January 22. Read more

 

 

 

Infosys tanks nearly 6%

Shares of Infosys Ltd plunged nearly 6 per cent to Rs 1,102, their lowest since February 14. The stock posted biggest intraday percentage loss since August 18, 2017. Read more

 

Nifty F&O positions

The net Nifty ‘put’ OI, which is the long minus the short position, stood at around ₹44,000 crore for the market closing as on Friday. This apart, the net short position in Nifty futures contracts stood at around 1,20,000 contracts last week, indicating a near-record build-up of short positions in the market. Read more

 

The Sensex was trading marginally lower after falling nearly 300 points in the opening trade. At 10.15 am, the Sensex was down 42.34 points or 0.12 per cent at 34,150.31 and the Nifty down 9.15 points or 0.09 per cent at 10,471.45.

Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index fell the most by 1.03 per cent, followed by TECk 0.9 per cent, oil & gas 0.6 per cent and consumer durables 0.3 per cent. On the other hand, healthcare index gained 0.75 per cent, FMCG 0.49 per cent, realty 0.4 per cent and capital goods 0.36 per cent.

Top five Sensex losers were Infosys, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, ONGC and Reliance, while the major gainers were Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's, NTPC, PowerGrid and Bajaj Auto.

 

Early trade

The Sensex fell nearly 300 points to crack below the 34,000-mark in early trade owing to weak Asian cues after a US-led strike on Syrian targets fuelled fresh geopolitical concerns.

The 30-share index fell 293.31 points or 0.85 per cent to 33,899.34. The gauge had gained 1,173.88 points in the previous seven sessions. Similarly, the Nifty dropped 84.25 points or 0.80 per cent to 10,396.35.

Asian markets

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 nudged up 0.38 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.2 per cent. Yet MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.4 per cent as Chinese blue chips took an early 0.7 per cent dip. Read more

 

Nikkei edges up

Nikkei rose 0.26 per cent to 21,834, while the broader Topix gained 0.19 per cent to 1,732.64. Read more

 

Tata Steel lacks strength (₹593.3)

Immediate support is at ₹588 — the 21-day moving average that is likely to be tested in the initial part of the week. An upward reversal from there will see the current rally extending towards ₹620 or even ₹630 in the coming weeks. Read more

 

Key resistance ahead for RIL(₹938.85)

The near-term view remains positive. Support is in the ₹925-₹920 region. The stock can extend its current upmove and test the crucial resistance level of ₹960 in the coming days.  Read more

 

Infosys maintains its uptrend (₹1,169)

As long as the stock remains above the ₹1,150-₹1,140 support zone, the possibility is high of it extending its upmove towards ₹1,200. Inability to break above ₹1,200 can drag Infosys lower to ₹1,150 or even lower. Read more

 

 

 

ITC may remain range-bound (₹260.8)

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Resistance caps the upside in SBI (₹251.2)

The stock reversed sharply lower after making a high of ₹265.25 and closed 3.3 per cent down for the week. Immediate support is at ₹248. If SBI manages to sustain above this support, a bounce-back move to ₹262 is possible again. Read more

 

 

Opening bell

The Sensex opened lower by 145.65 points at 34,047 against the previous close of 34,192.65 and the Nifty down by 58.95 points at 10,421.65 against 10,480.60.

Indices at the crossroads

Both the Nifty and Sensex witnessed a gradual up-move last week, amid choppiness in the global markets. However, the US trade talk and geopolitical risks could weigh on the domestic market. Read more