Market breadth on the BSE ended firm as 1,908 shares advanced and 1,156 shares declined
Rating agency Fitch on Tuesday downgraded the US government's top credit rating to AA+ from AAA, citing fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated debt ceiling negotiations. The development caused a flutter across equity markets, with most leading frontline global equity indices trading weak. Back home, the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 lost over 1 per cent each in intra-day deals to hit a low of 65,751.53 and 19,517.55 levels, respectively.
The markets opened in deep green in line with its Asian peers on the back of selling pressure witnessed across the board
The markets have opened strong today and Sensex crossed 14000 level
Top gainers from the Sensex pack are ONGC, HDFC, HUL, RIL and Cipla.
ITC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking 6.97 per cent, followed by L&T, HDFC, SBI, ONGC, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.
Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.30 per cent, followed by Infosys, HCL Tech, ONGC, M&M, TCS, IndusInd Bank and L&T. On the other hand, ITC, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HUL and ICICI Bank were among the gainers, spurting up to 5.45 per cent.
It, however, was a record-smashing week for both the indices, which scaled their lifetime highs.
A strong set of industrial output numbers for January provided the perfect backdrop to reap more dividends, with the IIP having expanded 2.7 per cent year-on-year.
Sensex closed over 118 points down on Thursday.
Markets continue to trade on a strong note in the late morning deals on the back of positive global cues and buying visible in the banking and capital goods stocks ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy review which is due on Tuesday.
The 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty ended flat at the mark of 29,008 and 8,767 respectively.
On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the prominent gainers.
Investors booked profits in range-bound trade, led by PSU, oil & gas, energy, infrastructure, telecom, realty, healthcare, bankex, FMCG, capital goods and power counters.
There is a lot of optimism as regards the defence, railway and manufacturing sectors.
The broader NSE Nifty, on the other hand, ended 2.70 points, or 0.02 per cent, lower at 11,555.90 in its third straight day of losses.
Analysts remain selective on cement stocks amid the likely government's capex push ahead of the scheduled general elections in May 2024. While UBS has initiated coverage on the Indian cement sector with an anti-consensus negative view and suggests investors sell select cement stocks on a rally, those at Nomura remain selectively bullish on the sector and prefer companies with large brownfield optionality and multi-region presence. In the near-term, UBS expects strong earnings of cement companies in the next two quarters to be driven by robust demand and margin tailwinds, but suggests any sharp uptick in stock prices could offer a good opportunity for booking profits in the related counters.
Sensex, Nifty end lower on global concerns.
The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty edged up just 0.10 points to close at 10,806.60
The FMCG sector is generally considered to be a safe haven during difficult times as people never stop buying soap and toothpaste. However, weak rural and semi-urban demand has been a factor since the lockdowns of 2020-21 while rising inflation has also impacted margins. While the FMCG majors have survived on the basis of price hikes and good management practices, they have seen growth slowdowns and experienced margins being squeezed as raw materials and transport costs rose. The FMCG sector witnessed positive volume growth in the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) after five consecutive quarters of decline, and the rebound in demand was led by urban markets.
Coal India was the biggest gainer on both Sensex and Nifty
An appreciating rupee, unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and encouraging earnings by blue-chips contributed to the uptrend
The NSE Nifty settled at 5,257, down 17 points. The market breadth was negative, out of 2,982 shares traded, 1,796 declined and 1,051 advanced on the BSE.
The BSE benchmark Sensex surged about 241 points to end at 35,165.48 and the NSE Nifty gained 84 points to close at 10,688.65.
"The 21,000 level is meaningless. In the past five years, earnings have grown 40 per cent. One should look at the P/E. We are very positive on the market despite elections being around the corner," says Milind Barve MD, HDFC AMC.
From the 30-Sensex pack, 26 stocks ended with gains led by Tata Steel and ICICI Bank
Sensex, Nifty slightly upbeat, midcaps to rule markets this week.
If a 5% to 10% fall in the equity market gives you sleepless nights, you are not cut out for a 75% to 80% allocation to equities and must reduce it.
Indian companies are planning to increase investments in the new year to expand capacity, acquire companies, and go on a hiring spree, a survey of top executives showed. They, however, cited rising costs, weak consumer demand, and increasing interest rates as major concerns for 2023 which may impact their plans.
Gains were led by HUL on better-than-expected margins in March quarter and capital goods shares.
Power, oil and gas, PSU, metal, banking, auto, capital goods, infrastructure and healthcare sector stocks witnessed heavy buying through the session.
Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 7 per cent, followed by TCS, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, HDFC Bank and HCL Tech. On the other hand, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma finished in the red.
Earning numbers of blue-chips, including ITC and SBI, due tomorrow.
After a strong start to the week on Tuesday, the Sensex this morning opened 15 points higher at 16,868 amid subdued global cues.
At the BSE, 1,964 stocks declined and 871 advanced while 99 remained unchanged.
Geopolitical concerns, earnings sees investors rush to safe haven plays post the Union Budget presentation in July.
Capital goods shares continued to trade firm in late noon despite weak market trend on the back of encouraging core sector growth in February.
The stock markets, which had opened in the green on rate cut hopes, tumbled after the monetary policy announcement.
