Sensex, Nifty manage to end at record closing highs; metals, midcaps rally

24 Jul 2018

Market at Close: Continuing its bullish momentum from Monday, led by gains in midcaps, the market end the day on a strong note. The Sensex and Nifty managed to close at a record high.

The Sensex closed up 106.50 points or 0.29% at 36825.10, while the Nifty was up 49.50 points or 0.45% at 11134.30. The market breadth is positive as 1,940 shares advanced, against a decline of 675 shares, while 150 shares were unchanged.

Metals ended the day with gains of around 3 percent, followed by infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and PSU banks. The Nifty Midcap index managed to end over a percent higher.

Results: Liquor firm Radico Khaitan today reported 84.46 percent jump in its standalone net profit to Rs 47.37 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal. It had a net profit of Rs 25.68 crore in the first quarter of last fiscal, 2017-18.

The company's total income from operations stood at Rs 2,118.01 crore during the April-June quarter of 2018-19. It was Rs 1,380.72 crore in the year-ago period, Radico Khaitan said in a regulatory filing to BSE.

It said that revenue from operations for the quarter under review is not comparable to the year-ago period due to restructuring of indirect taxes following the roll-out of GST from July 1, 2017.

Market Update: The market is back around the day’s high points, with the Sensex rising over 100 points, while the Nifty is up almost half a percent at 11,100. Midcaps have seen a strong trading day, with the index rising over 1 percent, while metals, pharma and auto stocks have gained the most.

The Sensex is up 125.20 points or 0.34% at 36843.80, while the Nifty is up 49.00 points or 0.44% at 11133.80. The market breadth is positive as 1809 shares advanced, against a decline of 680 shares, while 142 shares were unchanged.

Among losers are IT names, with the Nifty IT index down 0.30 percent. Among stocks, L&T, Vedanta, Grasim and Hindalco are the top gainers, while Kotak Mahindra Bank, HUL, and Bajaj Finserv have lost the most.

Equity benchmarks have given up a chunk of their gains, with the Sensex rising around 80 points, while the Nifty is trading well above 11,100. Midcaps are trading strong, rising over a percent, while auto, metals, pharma and infrastructure names are trading in the green. Some selling is seen among IT and energy names. Among gainers are Vedanta, L&T, Grasim and Hindalco, while Kotak Bank, HUL, and Bajaj Finance lost the most.

Buzzing stock: Shares of UltraTech Cement rose over 5 percent on Tuesday as a rally in ACC’s shares spilled over to other cement stocks.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 4,225.00 and an intraday low of Rs 4,040.00.

Market update: The benchmark indices are trading higher but off day's high with Sensex up 120 points and Nifty firmly trading above 11,100 mark.

Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Coal India and L&T top gainers on the Sensex.

Among the sectors, metal, infra, pharma, and midcap index were up 1-2%.

Axis Capital on L&T Infotech: Axis Capital has maintained buy call on L&T Infotech with a target at Rs 1,920 per share.

According to research house, the strong deal wins in H2FY18 & H1FY19 is going to drive momentum.

Expect 19% revenue CAGR and 290 bps margin expansion over FY18, it added.

At 11:20 hrs Larsen & Toubro Infotech was quoting at Rs 1,801.50, up Rs 77.10, or 4.47 percent on the BSE.

Idea soars 8%: Shares of Idea Cellular gained over 8 percent on Tuesday morning as investors placed bet on the company agreed to pay, ‘under protest’, Rs 7,249 crore to DoT for its merger with Vodafone.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 56.95 and an intraday low of Rs 53.95.

Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom for merging their mobile business.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

Market Update: After opening at record high, the Sensex is now up over 150 points, while the Nifty is seen inching towards a fresh milestone as well. Buying in midcaps space has boosted both indices, while a big surge is seen among metals, automobiles and pharmaceutical sectors.

Financials, too, are trading in the green. Among stocks, shares of Delta Corp and United Spirits are up 1-5 percent on the back of good June quarter results. UltraTech Cement is another gainer, a beneficiary of ACC’s rally, as the stock is up 5 percent.

Buzzing stock: Shares of United Spirits gained around over a percent on Tuesday morning after the company reported 29 percent rise in its net profit to Rs 81.3 crore.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 586.10 and an intraday low of Rs 560.00.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 62.9 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Diageo-controlled firm said in a regulatory filing.

Its total income during the quarter under review was at Rs 6,436.6 crore, up from Rs 5,847.7 crore in same quarter last fiscal, it added.

Buzzing Stock: Shares of Delta Corp added 5 percent intraday Tuesday on the back of strong June quarter numbers.

The company's Q1 net profit surged 52 percent to Rs 28.61 crore versus Rs 18.81 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue rose 36.7 percent to Rs 109.91 crore versus Rs 80.36 crore.

ACC jumps 13%: Shares of ACC gained around 13 percent on Tuesday morning as investors cheered the company’s results.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 1,468.00 and an intraday low of Rs 1,395.10.

The company posted a higher-than-expected 1.2 percent rise in second-quarter profit on Monday, helped by a fall in expenses.

Standalone profit was Rs 326 crore ($47.4 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with Rs 322 crore a year earlier, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement.

Cement sales volume rose 7.4 percent to 7.24 million tonnes in the quarter, it said.

Market opens: Equity benchmarks have looked to continue their momentum from Monday, with the Sensex opening at a record high, while the Nifty has opened above 11,100.

At 09:15 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 89.00 points or 0.24% at 36807.60, while the Nifty is up 26.10 points or 0.24% at 11110.90. The market breadth is positive as 305 shares have advanced, 116 shares have declined, and 39 shares are unchanged.

All sectoral indices are trading in the green, with maximum gains seen among IT and infrastructure names. Midcaps, meanwhile, have opened higher, with the index rising around 0.20 percent. Shares of ACC are trading higher by 10 percent after the company reported good results for the June quarter.

Rupee opens: The Indian rupee opened lower by 10 paise at 68.96 per dollar on Tuesday versus 68.86 yesterday.

Rupee gained in yesterday’s session primarily on back of weakness in the dollar against its major crosses after comments from US President wherein he raised concerns over a stronger dollar and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases, said Motilal Oswal.

On the domestic front, no major economic data is expected to be released but movement in the dollar against its major crosses will continue to influence the rupee. Today, USD-INR pair is expected to quote in the range of 68.80 and 69.10, it added.

Market at Pre-open: Pre-opening rates indicate a strong start to the market, with the Nifty hitting 11,100.

At 09:01 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 224.91 points or 0.61% at 36943.51, and the Nifty up 36.80 points or 0.33% at 11121.60.

The market on Monday had closed on a higher note, with the 50-share index ending above 11,080 as well.