Markets Live: Sensex soars 416 points; Nifty jumps to 10,736

Closing bell

The Sensex soared 416.27 points or 1.19 per cent to close at a two-week high of 35,322.38 and the Nifty zoomed 121.80 points or 1.15 per cent to 10,736.15 on a flurry of buying in banking, energy and IT stocks amid a firm trend overseas.

 

 

 

Covering-up of pending short positions on expiry of May derivatives contracts and optimistic buying by participants ahead of GDP data further aided the uptrend.

Top five Sensex gainers were Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, M&M and HUL, while the major losers were Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's and Maruti.

 

As per provisional data, domestic institutional investors had bought shares worth Rs 492.46 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold to the tune of Rs 1,286.91 crore yesterday.

HDFC Bank jumps to all-time high

 

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd rose as much as 3.8 per cent to an all-time high of Rs 2,126.45, their biggest intraday percentage gain since July 2017. Read more

Global markets

 

World stocks, the euro and Italian bonds all made a second day of gains, after renewed efforts from politicians in Rome to form a government and data from China pointed to its giant economy performing well. Read more

Bullion prices

 

Gold prices drifted lower by Rs 90 to Rs 32,000 per 10 grams at the bullion market owing to weak demand from jewellers even as the metal strengthened overseas. More on this

Mcleod Russel hits 1-week low

 

Shares of tea producer McLeod Russel India Ltd fell as much as 4.2 per cent to Rs 147.90, their lowest in a week. More on this

Pre-close trade

The Sensex was trading higher by 221.06 points or 0.63 per cent at 35,127.17 and the Nifty up 62.5 points or 0.59 per cent at 10,676.85.

Short-covering on account of May F&O expiry later today and firm global cues boosted the domestic sentiment. Expectations of strong GDP data in the January-March quarter also aided the uptrend.

 

Top five Sensex gainers were HDFC Bank, M&M, HUL, IndusInd Bank and Adani Ports, while the major losers were PowerGrid, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors and Tata Steel.

 

 

Punj Lloyd rallies 19%

 

Shares of Punj Lloyd climbed on March-quarter profit. The stock climbed as much as 18.9 per cent to Rs 19.2, its highest since April 13. Click here to read more

CG Power tanks over 7%

 

Shares of CG Power and Industrial Solutions, engaged in the business of power transformers and reactors, dropped on Q4 loss. The stock fell as much as 7.2 per cent to Rs 71.3. More on this

RCom zooms 20% on NCLAT order

 

Shares of Reliance Communications jumped as much as 20 per cent to Rs 21, their highest in nine sessions, as the company expects to complete the asset sale in coming weeks. Click here to read more

ICICI Bank hits 4-week low

 

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd, the country's third-biggest lender by assets, fell as much as 1.7 per cent to Rs 280.1, their lowest in about 4 weeks. Click here to read more

 

Manpasand hits lower circuit limit

 

Shares of Manpasand Beverages plunged 10 per cent to hit their lower circuit limit for the fourth consecutive session today on account of the resignation of its auditing firm with effect from May 26, 2018. Click here to read more

Atlanta hits lower circuit limit

 

Shares of construction company Atlanta Ltd fell as much as 19.98 per cent to Rs 51.25, their lower limit for intraday trade, on the back of resignation of statutory auditors of the company. Read more

ONGC hits 1-week high

 

Shares of ONGC jumped to one-week high on Q4 results. The oil and gas explorer's shares gained as much as 3.7 per cent to Rs 180.35, their highest in over a week. More on this

Orient Cement rallies

 

Shares of Orient Cement gained on deal termination cheer. The stock jumed as much as 13.5 per cent to Rs 139.45, its biggest intraday percentage gain since February 6. Read more

The Sensex was trading higher by nearly 200 points as Asian markets rebounded after worries about a political crisis in Italy waned, while expectations that the domestic economy likely gained momentum in the first three months of 2018 buoyed investor sentiment.

The government will release GDP data on Thursday around 1200 GMT. Brokers said short-covering of bets, today being the last session of May expiry in the derivatives segment, also boosted the domestic sentiment.

The BSE index was up 195.75 points or 0.56 per cent at 35,101.86 and the NSE index up 60.85 points or 0.57 per cent at 10,675.20.

Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas gained the most followed by IT, TECk and banking, while power, realty, healthcare and consumer durables succumbed to selling pressure.

 

Financial stocks accounted for most of the gains on the Sensex. Top five Sensex gainers were HDFC Bank, ONGC, M&M, IndusInd Bank and HUL, while the major losers were Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and PowerGrid.

 

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd, the country's third-biggest lender by assets, dropped after it said it would institute an inquiry into allegations raised by an anonymous whistleblower against CEO Chanda Kochhar.

Aditya Birla Sun Life

 

Investors with long- term goals and a moderate risk appetite can invest in Aditya Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity. While the fund delivers well over the long term, it may underperform over shorter time frames of 1-2 years. Click here to read more

Gold edges up

 

Gold prices edged higher, as the dollar eased from 6-1/2-month highs hit earlier this week, with the prices further supported by concerns over US-China trade. Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $1,302.50 per ounce by 0344 GMT. Read more

NSE co-location case

 

The CBI has registered an FIR against SEBI officials, the National Stock Exchange and Sanjay Gupta, the owner of Delhi-based brokerage company OPG Securities, in the NSE co-location case.  More on this

Nifty 50 May Futures (10,650)

 

Short-term traders can go long on a break above 10,670. Stop-loss can be placed at 10,645 for the target of 10,710.  Click here to read more

The Sensex was trading higher by over 160 points as Asian markets rebounded after worries about a political crisis in Italy waned, while expectations that the domestic economy likely gained momentum in the first three months of 2018 buoyed investor sentiment.

The government will release GDP data on Thursday around 1200 GMT. Brokers said short-covering of bets, today being the last session of May expiry in the derivatives segment, also boosted the domestic sentiment.

The BSE index was up 166.32 points or 0.48 per cent at 35,072.43 and the NSE index up 47.5 points or 0.45 per cent at 10,661.85.

 

Top five Sensex gainers were ONGC, HDFC Bank, Coal India, M&M and Infosys, while the major losers were Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's and Tata Motors.

 

“Market is holding on, in spite of worries around crude and political instability,” said Anupam Singhi, chief operations officer, Marketsmith India, part of William O'Neil India.

“From a medium term perspective, we believe market is right now stable and will consolidate between current level and 11,300 level. (We) don't see too much of a fall from here.”

 

 

Brent dips to $77.30

 

Brent crude was down 20 cents at $77.30 per barrel at 0041 GMT, after settling the last session up 2.8 percent. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 20 cents at $68.01 a barrel. In the previous session, it settled up $1.48, or 2.2 percent, at $68.21 per barrel. Read more

Forex market

 

The euro won a reprieve, holding on to its big gains made the previous day as Italy moved to calm political turbulence and sought to avoid a potentially disruptive early election. The euro traded at $1.1669, having risen 1.1 per cent the previous day, its second-biggest daily gain so far this year. More on this

Rupee weakens to 67.59

 

The rupee weakened to 67.59 in late morning deals following sudden bouts of dollar demand from importers and banks, despite a strong domestic equity market. Click here to read more

‘SME market lends confidence to growing entrepreneurs’

 

 

A slew of SME IPOs has been attracting much investor attention of late due to healthy returns delivered by some of these companies. Prateek Jain, Director, Hem Securities, shares his views on the SME IPO market with BusinessLine . Click here to read more

Monsoon update

 

The monsoon has now covered entire Kerala, most parts of coastal Karnataka, more parts of South Interior Karnataka, and interior Tamil Nadu. Click here to read more

GDP growth forecast

 

 India likely retained the position of world's fastest growing major economy in the January-March quarter, surpassing China's growth of 6.8 per cent, driven by gains in manufacturing and consumer spending. Click here to read more

The Sensex was trading higher by over 110 points on firm global cues and sustained buying by domestic institutional investors.

Brokers said short-covering of bets, today being the last session of May expiry in the derivatives segment, boosted the domestic sentiment. Optimistic buying by participants ahead of GDP data scheduled to be released later today too buoyed the trading sentiment.

The BSE index was up 111.17 points or 0.32 per cent at 35,017.28 and the NSE index up 33.1 points or 0.31 per cent at 10,647.45.

Top five Sensex gainers were ONGC, HDFC Bank, Coal India, Infosys and M&M, while the major losers were Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank and PowerGrid.

ICICI Bank shares plunged 1.49 per cent after the bank has ordered an independent probe into the allegations against its MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar’s dealing with certain borrowers.

Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas gained the most followed by IT, TECk and consumer durables. On the other hand, power, healthcare, metal and auto indices succumbed to selling pressure.

 

 

Meanwhile, ÍMD had yesterday said the entire country is likely to get normal monsoon this year, except the east and northeast India, which is likely to witness “below normal” rainfall.

As per provisional data, domestic institutional investors had bought shares worth Rs 492.46 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1,286.91 crore yesterday.

Rupee strengthens to 67.37

 

The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to 67.37 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market ahead of GDP data scheduled to be released later today. Read more

Asian markets

 

Asian stocks rebounded from a two-month trough, while the euro enjoyed a respite after sinking to its lowest in 10 months as political turmoil in Italy that had roiled global financial markets showed signs of easing. More on this

The Sensex was trading up 45.22 points or 0.13 per cent at 34,951.22 and the Nifty up 15.75 points or 0.15 per cent at 10,630.10.

Short-covering of bets, today being the last session of May expiry in the derivatives segment, kept the overall tempo up. Optimistic buying by participants ahead of GDP data scheduled to be released later today too buoyed the trading sentiment, brokers said.

 

 

Syngene International has entered into a pact with US-based Zumutor Biologics for biotherapeutic antibody discovery services. The company shares were trading up 0.14 per cent at Rs 605.50. Read more

 

Infibeam Incorporation board has approved a proposal to raise funds not exceeding ₹2,000 crore. The company is eyeing various options including issuance of securities through QIP/FCCB/FCEB/ADR/GDR etc., subject to necessary approvals. The company shares were up 1.27 per cent at Rs 171.80 on the BSE. More on this

SEBI allows debt issuers to review ratings by agencies

 

SEBI has allowed debt issuers to review ratings given by agencies, a move that will check the menace of ‘rating shopping’ and ‘pick-and-choose’ approach in their actions. Click here to read more

McGraw-Hill Asian Holdings has picked up 6.32 lakh shares of rating agency Crisil for an estimated ₹117 crore through an open market transaction. More on this

Broker's call

Deccan Cements (Buy)

CMP: ₹468.55

Target: ₹670

Click here to read more

MFs' allocation to IT stocks soars

 

The mutual fund industry is betting big on IT firms as its equity exposure to the sector climbed to an all-time high of nearly ₹71,000 crore in April amid depreciating rupee and market volatility. Read more

 

Day Trading Guide

Given below are supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading:

₹2046 • HDFC Bank

 

₹1214 • Infosys

 

₹271 • ITC

 

Click here to view the full guide

 

Opening bell

The 30-share BSE index Sensex opened higher by 137.52 points at 35,043.63 against the previous close of 34,906.11 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty up 41.4 points at 10,655.75 against Wednesday's close of 10,614.35.

Today's stock pick

Torrent Power (₹254.1): Buy

 

Investors with a short-term perspective can buy the stock of Torrent Power at current levels. The stock has been in a near-term rally since taking support at ₹214, over the past five trading sessions.  Click here to read more