In the last four trading sessions, the Sensex has surged 1,644 points, its biggest weekly gain in more than four years.
The investor sentiment was boosted after the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stuck to the path of fiscal consolidation by maintaining fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for FY16-17 and at the same time focusing on government’s push for higher infra and rural spending.
Banking shares which were among the most beaten down stocks till last week showcased a stellar rally this week. The banking index on the National Stock Exchange, Bank Nifty sky rocketed 11.2 per cent and the PSU Bank index surged 18.2 per cent.
The Sensex ended today’s session 39 points higher at 24,646 and Nifty rose 10 points to shut shop at 7,485.
2:55 p.m.: HCL Technologies, Idea Cellular, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and ACC were among the top losers in the Nifty-50 basket of shares.
2:05 p.m.: The stock markets were trading with a negative bias on the back of selling in IT stocks. The Sensex fell 44 points to 24,563 and Nifty declined 14 points to 7,462.
1:52 p.m.: From the small-cap space, Dhampur Sugars, Parsvanath Developers, Minda Industries, Just Dial, Shree Renuka Sugars, Prakash Steelage, Atlanta and Arshiya International were among the gainers, up 11-17 per cent.
1:35 p.m.: Suzlon Energy was the most actively traded share on the NSE. It was followed by Vedanta, Unitech, Reliance Communications, GMR Infra and ICICI Bank.
1:25 p.m.: IT stocks extend losses. The BSE IT index fell 0.8 per cent on the back of selling in HCL Technologies, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, KPIT and Mphasis.
1:06 p.m.: Shares of HMT rose sharply by 20 per cent on Friday as the government is eyeing revival of HMT Machine Tools.
The stock advanced by 18.61 per cent to Rs. 49.70 on BSE. On NSE, shares of the company jumped 19.92 per cent to Rs. 49.95.
12:49 p.m.: The stock markets were trading in a tight range. The Sensex moved in a range of 188 points and the 50-share Nifty touched high of 7,506 and low of 7,444.
The broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index was up 1 per cent and the small-cap index advanced 0.78 per cent.
12:24 p.m.: Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) advanced as much as 4.7 per cent to Rs. 108.20 on commissioning its first 700 megawatt (MW) supercritical thermal unit at Bellary Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Karnataka.
12:15 p.m.: Some IT stocks were trading with a negative bias. The BSE IT index slipped 0.18 per cent; HCL Tech, Wipro, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis and KPIT Technologies were among the losers.
12:03 p.m.: Minda Industries rallies 16 per cent to Rs. 977 after the auto components manufacturer Minda Industries said it has acquired Spain-based Rinder Group’s global automotive lighting business for 20 million euros (over Rs. 145 crore).
The acquisition includes 100 per cent equity holding in Rinder India, Spain-based Light Systems and Technical Center, along with 50 per cent stake in Rinder Riducu, Colombia.
12:00 p.m.: Market breadth was positive as 1,394 stocks were advancing while 783 were declining.
11:42 a.m.: Metal stocks witnessed buying interest for the second day. The BSE metal index was up 1.4 per cent; Hindustan Zinc, Vdeanta, NMDC, JSW Steel, NALCO and Tata Steel were among the gainers, up 1-2.8 per cent each.
11:38 a.m.: PSU banking shares were witnessing buying interest. The PSU Bank index on the NSE was up 1.44 per cent; Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India were among the gainers, up 2.6-5.32 per cent each.
11:23 a.m.: Nifty 7,500 strike price call option was the most active contract on the NSE. As many as 9,347 contracts were added to the open interest of 77,831 contracts.
11:16 a.m.: Select banking shares were witnessing profit-booking. Bank Nifty was down 0.5 per cent; HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank were among the losers.
11:05 a.m.: Maruti Suzuki was the top loser in the Nifty, down 2.15 per cent to Rs. 3,531. HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Idea Cellular, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, NTPC and Sun Pharma were also among the laggards, down 1-1.6 per cent each.
10:52 a.m.: Kotak has downgraded Hero MotoCorp to ‘add’ from ‘buy’ for target of Rs. 3,050 per share. Kotak says positives are priced in after run-up and rural spending by government is similar to last year. Kotak adds that good monsoon & recovery in agri commodity is key for the stock going ahead.
10:45 a.m.: Buying visible in select realty, metal, healthcare and oil & gas stocks.
10:08 a.m.: The stock markets turned turned flat. The Sensex was up 8 points at 24,615 and Nifty was down 5 points at 7,470.
9:45 a.m.: The market breadth was negative as 816 stocks were declining while 675 were advancing.
9:36 a.m.: PSU Banking shares were underperforming the benchmark indices on account of profit-booking. The PSU Bank index on the NSE was down 1.3 per cent; State Bank of India was the top loser, down 1.78 per cent to Rs. 179.50. IDBI Bank, Allahabad Bank, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also among the laggards, down 0.72-1.78 per cent.
9:31 a.m.: Profit-booking was also visible in the broader markets as well. The BSE mid-cap index slipped 0.08 per cent and the small-cap index was down 0.16 per cent. From the mid-cap space, Mphasis was the top loser, down 2.4 per cent. IDBI Bank, Reliance Communications, Neyveli Lignite, Wockhardt, Reliance Capital, Allahabad Bank, Reliance Power and Berger Paints were also among the laggards, dwon 1.5-2.2 per cent each.
9:25 a.m.: The Sensex rose over 100 points while Nifty moved above its crucial psychological level of 7,500 for a brief period in the opening trades on Friday but soon turned flat on the back of a mild profit-booking after three days of stellar rally.
At 9:20 a.m., the Sensex was up 14 points at 24,621 and Nifty slipped 5 points to 7,470.
On the sectoral front, profit booking was visible in select banking, energy and realty stocks.
From the Nifty-50 basket of shares, 34 were declining while 16 were advancing.
State Bank of India was the top loser, down 2 per cent to Rs. 178.90. GAIL Inida, Punjab National Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindalco and Yes Bank were also among the laggards, down 1.4-1.8 per cent each.
On the other hand, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Infosys and Cipla were among the notable gainers.
7:45 a.m.: The Sensex and Nifty are likely to open on a positive note in trades on Friday tracking positive trading of Nifty futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange amid firm global cues.
The Nifty futures traded on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty was up 0.48 per cent or 36 points at 7,476.
Meanwhile, Asian shares look set to post a third straight weeks of gains on Friday as investors scaled back cautious bets on the global economy after a string of positive US economic data and a recovery in oil and commodity prices.
The rebound in risk asset prices could continue if the upcoming US employment report points to solid job gains, but not strong enough to encourage rate rises in the near term.
Overnight, Wall Street moved higher on Thursday, adding momentum to a recent recovery as the energy and financial sectors emerged into positive territory for the year.
The S&P 500’s increase was the most recent in four weeks of mostly steady gains that have left the index down 2.5 per cent in 2016 after the worst January since 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended 0.26 per cent higher at 16,943.90 points and the S&P 500 gained 0.35 per cent to 1,993.39.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.09 per cent to 4,707.42.
Back home, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs. 912 crore while the domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs. 464.75 crore on Thursday.
