For the third month running, investors opened over four million new demat accounts in February, showing growing household confidence in stock markets and their increased risk appetite. Over 13.12 million new demat accounts have been opened in the last three months, taking the total count close to the 150-million mark. Demat accounts are needed for trading and holding shares electronically.
Equity investors became richer by Rs 2.4 lakh crore as key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty scaled new peaks in morning trade on Tuesday, amid persistent foreign fund inflows. Analysts said foreign institutional investors have reversed their selling strategy and have been consistent buyers during the last seven days. This momentum is a reflection of institutional confidence in the Indian market, they said.
Nextbillion Technology (Groww), the venture capital-backed broking platform, has dislodged Zerodha Broking as India's largest brokerage in terms of number of active clients. Groww had 6.63 million active clients at the end of September, as against Zerodha's 6.48 million, ending the latter's long run at the top. AngelOne and RKSV Securities (Upstox) were ranked third and fourth with 4.86 million and 2.19 million active clients, according to data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries and IndusInd Bank.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.56 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Power Grid, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and L&T. In contrast, Asian Paints, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by L&T, Bharti AIrtel, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty rallied 164.70 points to its fresh closing peak of 16,529.10.
In the Sensex pack, HDFC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Asian Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra and TCS were the prominent gainers. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra and SBI were among the major laggards. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were trading in the red.
Close on heels of the launch of Gift Nifty (earlier SGX Nifty), domestic exchanges are pushing for extension of trading hours for the onshore derivatives market, said sources. Bourses are waiting for a final approval from market regulator Sebi on the proposal to keep the derivatives market open for longer hours, they said. The move is aimed at attracting more trading members for onshore futures and options (F&O) contracts amid risk that global investors could prefer trading at Gift City given the tax benefits.
With the Nifty50 just about 3 per cent away from its all-time closing high of 18,812 points, analysts at BofA Securities suggest investors book profit. Their reasons for the advice include risks like the possibility of a cut in corporate earnings growth forecasts, high valuation (one-year forward P/E of 19.5x), interest rates staying elevated for longer-than-expected and credit tightening. Going ahead, they expect the Nifty50 index to drop to 16,000 levels - down nearly 12 per cent from the current level of 18,255 points, which they believe would be a good time to buy.
The rupee depreciated 7 paise to an all-time low of 80.05 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking the strength of the American currency and firm crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 80 against the American dollar, then lost ground to quote at 80.05, registering a fall of 7 paise from the last close. In initial trade, the local unit also touched 79.90 against the American currency.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Maruti, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints. NSE Nifty rallied 293.05 points to 17,469.75.
The bourse's valuations may get a boost, as it gets set for its OFS of about Rs 10,000 crore.
M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring around 7 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Infosys and ICICI Bank. On the other hand, HUL, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance and ITC were among the laggards.
The market valuation of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, reached Rs 1 lakh crore mark on Wednesday and became the first airline to achieve this milestone. On Wednesday, the stock rallied 3.55 per cent to settle at Rs 2,619.85 apiece on the BSE. In intra-day trade, shares of the company jumped 4.12 per cent to hit its 52-week high of Rs 2,634.25.
From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Power Grid, NTPC, Infosys, Nestle, Reliance Industries and UltraTech Cement were the biggest laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major gainers.
Tata Motors drove the Sensex rally for the second session in a row, surging over 8 per cent. Other top gainers were Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India -- rising as much as 5 per cent.
Benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed at new lifetime high levels on Monday on foreign fund inflows and buying in index majors HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 529.03 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at its new all-time closing high of 66,589.93. During the day, it climbed 595.31 points or 0.90 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 66,656.20. The NSE Nifty went up by 146.95 points or 0.75 per cent to end at a new record high of 19,711.45.
Sundararaman Ramamurthy has been an interesting choice for the publicly-listed BSE, which has seen its chief move to bigger rival -- the National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- in July. Having spent nearly two decades at the country's largest bourse, Ramamurthy is among the early architects of NSE and understands all the cogs of the exchange wheel like only a few others in the country. Just like NSE's core team, which includes its founder RH Patil, the 59-year-old Ramamurthy has worked at the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) before moving to NSE in 1995.
Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), has terminated merger agreements with Zee Entertainment, which could have otherwise created a USD 10 billion media enterprise in the country.
The state with the most people has displaced the state with the largest economy in terms of investor additions. Uttar Pradesh (UP) added 126,000 new investors in April, reveals National Stock Exchange (NSE) disclosures. This is higher than Maharashtra's 118,000. Maharashtra, which is home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, has traditionally been the biggest source of investors.
Shares of the HDFC duo led the fall in the indices, shedding up to 2.94 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid and SBI were among the other major laggards.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday said Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India, has agreed to discuss extending the date required to make their merger scheme effective, a day ahead of the deadline. A day after Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) stated that it has not yet agreed to a deadline extension requested by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for their proposed $10-billion merger, the Subhash Chandra family-promoted media firm said it has received a communication from Sony group for discussing an extension of the deal which was announced almost two years ago.
The 50-share NSE Nifty closed at a fresh life high of 11,130.40 points, up 60.75 points, or 0.55 per cent.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 7.20 per cent, followed by Tata Steel 4.99 per cent, IndusInd Bank 3.49 per cent, Axis Bank 3.26 per cent and HDFC 2.57 per cent.
Ultratech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.37 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Reliance Industries, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC and ITC.
Among the gainers, RIL was followed by Sun Pharma, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India and HCL Tech. On the other hand, Titan, L&T, ONGC, HDFC Bank and ITC were among the laggards.
HDFC was the leading gainer among Sensex stocks on Thursday, rising by 1.65 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Titan and Infosys. TCS was the biggest loser, shedding 1.33 per cent. Ultratech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the other major laggards.
The Sensex recorded a significant rise of 919.19 points, or 2.65 per cent while the Nifty gained 213.45 points, or 1.99 per cent, in the week.
Better-than-expected quarterly earnings by select index heavyweights, easing of US-EU trade tensions and firm foreign capital inflows boosted investor sentiment, brokers said.
Sitharaman also said different departments of the government are working to provide relief to industry, which could be severely impacted by the fast-spreading virus.
Domestic equity markets, which are at record high levels, will be driven by quarterly earnings, global trends and foreign fund movement, analysts said. The movement of rupee and global oil benchmark Brent crude will also be tracked by investors. "The direction of global stock markets, fluctuations in the rupee-to-dollar exchange rate, and movement in crude oil prices will all play a crucial role in influencing the overall market trend.
The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty dropped 38.35 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 10,186.60
Boosted by a rally in stocks, total market valuation of listed companies at the National Stock Exchange hit the Rs 100 lakh crore-mark on Wednesday.
SBI rose 2.43 per cent, Maruti gained 2.38 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.87 per cent and HUL was up by 1.78 per cent.
Among major Sensex gainers, ITC rose the most by 2.32 per cent, followed by TCS, M&M, SBI and Bharti Airtel.
In the rights issue, the company is offering one share for every 15 shares held at Rs 1,257. The rights shares are expected to be listed on the BSE and NSE on or around June 12.
The scrip of Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd, which listed on the National Stock Exchange on Friday, opened at Rs 60 per share, at substantial premium to issue price of Rs 34.
Following a more than 15 per cent surge in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 from this year's lows, the spread between the 10-year government security (G-sec) and the Nifty earnings has approached the danger zone of 2 percentage points (ppt). At present, the G-sec yield is roughly 7.09 per cent, while the Nifty earnings are 5.12 per cent. As a result, the spread works out to 1.98 ppt, ever so slightly below the danger mark of 2 ppt.
Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Nestle were among the laggards. Shares of HCL Technologies were trading over 1 per cent lower even after the company reported a 7.6 per cent year-on-year rise in June quarter net profit on the back of new order wins.
Shrinking inflows and surging outflows on account of profit-booking has curtailed mutual fund (MF) investments in equities since April. The total investments made by equity MFs during the first three months of 2023-24 stands at just Rs 2,980 crore, compared with an average monthly investment of Rs 14,500 crore in 2022-23, reveals data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. "We are seeing signs of moderation in non-systematic investment plan (SIP) contribution, which has impacted domestic fund inflows in recent months to some extent," says Kunal Vora, head-India equity research, BNP Paribas.
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