Sensex up 150 points; gains in IT, oil and gas stocks

Benchmark equity indices recovered after opening lower today, led by gains in shares of information technology, and oil & gas companies. Investors exercised caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting, starting later today.

At 12:05 PM, the BSE Sensex was trading at 33,073, up 150 points, while the Nifty50 index was trading at 10,147, up 52 points.

The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices up 0.46% and 0.22%, respectively.

Nifty IT was up 1%, snapping a three-session losing streak, led by gains in shares of Tech Mahindra and Infosys. The index was the top gainer among all the sectoral indices on NSE.

Shares of oil & gas companies rose, led by gains in shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, and Reliance Infrastructure. Nifty Energy was up 0.5%.

Shares of Uttam Galva Steels were 1% higher on reports the company has proposed to settle a Rs5,650cr loan by paying 51% of the outstanding amount upfront to the public sector banks.

Videocon Industries stock gained 0.50% after the company exited insurance business by selling its holdings in Videocon General Insurance Company Ltd.

Shares of Binani Cement's hit 5% upper circuit on the BSE. UltraTech agreed to issue a letter of comfort for its increased bid to the cement maker’s lenders for termination of insolvency proceedings at the Kolkata bench of the NCLT.

Volatility index India VIX slipped 1.95% to 15.5100.

Infratel (+4.8%), Tata Steel (+4%), Tech Mahindra (+2.3%) and Eicher (+2.1%) were the top gainers on Nifty50.

M&M (-1.2%), Cipla (-1%), NTPC (-1%), IOC (-1%), M&M (-1.3%) and Aurobindo (-0.54%) were the top losers in today’s trade.

Out of 2,019 stocks traded on the NSE, 832 advanced, 806 declined and 381 remained unchanged today.

A total of five stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 106 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

 

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Andhra Bank up 8%, recovers from Monday's fall

Shares of Andhra Bank shrugged off the recent weakness and surged nearly 10% to a high of Rs39.50 on bargain buying amid relief over the bank's limited exposure to Sterling group companies.

The stock also tracked gains in most state-owned banking shares after India's headline inflation dropped to a four-month low in February, easing concerns of a rate hike in the near future.

On Monday, the stock had closed nearly 7% lower on reports that the Enforcement Directorate filed a prosecution complaint against former director Anup Prakash Garg in a Rs5,000cr bank fraud case involving Sterling Biotech Ltd. However, late on Monday, the bank clarified it has fund- and non-fund based exposure of only Rs1,150cr in this regard and the exposure to the group companies had already been classified as non-performing assets since March 2015.

Andhra Bank is currently trading at Rs38.55 up by Rs2.7 or 7.53% from its previous closing of Rs35.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs35.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs39.55 and Rs35 respectively. So far 2,10,28,151(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs3,128.99cr.

 

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Indian oil refiners up 1-5% as global crude price declines

Shares of state-owned oil refiners rose 1-5% as prices of crude oil in the global markets fell on Monday. The prices fell after latest data showed that crude oil output in the US is expected to rise this year.

Indian oil refiners are major importers of crude oil and a fall in global crude oil prices supports sentiment for the sector.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is currently trading at Rs383.45, up Rs17, or 4.64%, from its previous close of Rs366.45 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs366.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs385.35 and Rs366.10, respectively. So far, total 38,40,729 HPCL shares have traded hands on both indexes. The current market cap of the company is Rs55,840.48cr.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is currently trading at Rs462.60, up Rs15.75, or 3.52%, from its previous close of Rs446.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs446 and has touched a high and low of Rs463.40 and Rs445.10, respectively. So far, total 21,89,298 BPCL shares have been exchanged on the BSE and the NSE. The current market cap of the company is Rs96,933.06cr.

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Sensex, Nifty down for 3rd straight session; Bank Nifty down 205 pts

After swinging between marginal gains and losses through the session, domestic share indices today ended the holiday-shortened week with modest losses, weighed down by persistent weakness across global markets.

The Nifty50 ended 34.50 points, or 0.3%, lower at 10458.35 points, while the Sensex closed down 99.36 points, or 0.4%, at 34046.94 points.

Indian equity markets will be closed on Friday on account of Holi.

Most global markets have turned weak following recent comments by US Federal Reserve Chair Powell, which indicated a faster pace of interest rate hikes in the US due to strong economic growth.

While losses in domestic indices were limited by higher than expected GDP growth of 7.2% for the December quarter, the indices ended lower for the third consecutive session. For the week, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex slipped 0.3% each.

Media, metal and banking stocks were the weakest today, while all sectoral indices ended 0.1-1.9% lower. The Nifty PSU Bank index, down 1.9%, was the worst hit sectoral index.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra and Eicher Motors ended with near 1% gains after these companies reported double-digit on-year growth in sales volume in February.

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Nifty hovers around 10,500 mark; IDBI Bank, Venky's stock up

Benchmark equity indices reversed early gains and slipped into negative zone in morning trade tracking mixed cues from other Asian stocks.

At 2:25 PM, the BSE Sensex was trading at 34,147, down 36 points, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 10,490, down mere three points.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap up 0.04% and and the BSE Smallcap Index was higher by 0.32%.

India’s largest passenger vehicles manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), reported 15% volume growth in February 2018. It sold 1,49,824 vehicles in February 2018 against 1,30,280 vehicles in February 2017. Domestic sales were up 14% yoy, while exports were up 25% yoy. Stocks is trading marginally down on the NSE.

Ashoka Buildcon Ltd’s subsidiary Ashoka Concessions Ltd has been declared as the lowest bidder (L-1) for six laning of Khiaratunda to Barwa Adda section of NH-2 in Jharkhand. Stock soared 4%.

Ashok Leyland stock rose after it reported February sales numbers. Medium and heavy commercial sales grew 21% to 13,726 units and light commercial vehicle sales rose 63% to 4,455 units.

The volatility index, India VIX gained 1.17% at 13.9675.

BPCL (+2.8%), Aurobindo (+1.9%), Eicher (+1.3%), IndusInd Bank (+1.3%) and HCL Tech (+1.2%) were the top gainers on Nifty50.

Lupin (-1.5%), ICICI Bank (-1.5%), SBI (-1.4%), Lupin (-1.1%), Hindalco (-1.1%) and UPL (-0.80%) were the top losers in today’s trade.

A total of 21 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 23 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

 

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