Nifty manages to hold 11,550, Sensex down 85 points

24 Aug 2018

Market at Close: Amid sombre global cues along with a weaker rupee back home, equity benchmarks managed to end the week on a negative note. The Nifty closed around 11,550-mark, while the Sensex saw cuts of almost quarter of a percent.

Investors were eyeing outcome of a key meeting between US and Chinese counterparts to address trade tension issues, but there was no significant breakthrough seen, reports said. Along with it, the Indian currency managed to hover below 70 per dollar mark for the second consecutive day. Lack of strong domestic cues also weighed on the indices.

Friday’s weak move was led by selloff in banks, IT and auto names, while metals looked to offer some support. The Nifty Metal index was up almost 2 percent. In the broader markets too, midcaps ended with cuts of one-third of a percent.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex ended lower by 84.96 points or 0.22% at 38251.80, while the Nifty was down 25.70 points or 0.22% at 11557.10. The market breadth was negative as 1,166 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,496 shares, while 197 shares were unchanged.

Among stocks, Vedanta and ONGC were the top gainers, while Yes Bank, Adani Ports, and Titan emerged as the biggest laggards on both indices.

Lupin gets EIR from USFDA: Company has received the Establishment Investigation Report (EIR) from USFDA for the successful inspection of its Nagpur facility. The inspection was conducted in May 2018.

Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director, Lupin said, "The successful completion of the Nagpur facility inspection is a positive development as we continue our journey to meet and exceed international regulatory standards."

At 14:33 hrs Lupin was quoting at Rs 910.40, up Rs 6.75, or 0.75 percent.

Market Update: Extended selling pressure on pharmaceuticals, FMCG and banking names has turned the market negative, with the Sensex trading lower by 100 points, while the Nifty still continued to hold 11,550.

The Sensex is down 90.52 points or 0.24% at 38246.24, and the Nifty down 27.30 points or 0.24% at 11555.50. The market breadth is negative as 1024 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,322 shares, while 168 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Power Grid, and UPL are the top gainers, while Yes Bank and ICICI Bank are the top losers.

Citi on Eris Lifesciences: Shares of Eris Lifesciences rose 4.7 percent as research house Citi maintained buy on the stock with a target of Rs 850 per share.

According to Citi, company believes that the Indian market has a long growth runway, while it intends to keep its focus on specialty segments.

Company maintains that it can grow at 30-40 percent higher than industry growth, said Citi.

Hexaware tanks 17%: share price dropped as much as 16.6 percent in morning on Friday following likely dilution of stake by the promoter.

About 2.8 crore equity shares exchanged hands through multiple block deals at an average price of Rs 440 per share, reports CNBC-TV18.

These block deals are worth Rs 1,253 crore.

Baring PE is likely to have sold 8.4 percent stake in Hexaware via block deals.

UBS on ONGC: Share price of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) added 2.3 percent as research house UBS maintained buy rating with a target of Rs 245 per share.

The company is deleveraging through the potential listing of OVL and non-core asset sales, said UBS.

There is an upside risk as stock currently discounting less than USD 50/bbl of net realisation.

It believes that strong earnings trajectory and potential of stake sales would be positive for the company.

Market Update: Equity benchmarks have marginally extended their gains from the opening minutes, with the Nifty trading around 11,600-mark. The Sensex is up around 50 points. A sharp recovery in banks as well as metals has helped the market. FMCG and pharmaceuticals are trading in the red. Meanwhile, midcaps are trading in the green, up around quarter of a percent.

The Sensex is up 56.53 points or 0.15% at 38393.29, while the Nifty is up 13.50 points or 0.12% at 11596.30. The market breadth is narrow as 942 shares advanced, against a decline of 740 shares, while 94 shares are unchanged.

Shares of Axis Bank is up 2 percent on reports of Amitabh Chaudhry likely succeeding Shikha Sharma. Hexaware fell 17 percent after Baring PE is said to have sold 8 percent equity in the company.

Axis Bank soars: Shares of Axis Bank rose around 2 percent on buzz of a management change at the bank. According to a report in The Economic Times, Amitabh Chaudhry of HDFC Life is likely to be the successor to Shikha Sharma, Axis’s current CEO and MD.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 641.80 and an intraday low of Rs 635.00.

The report further quoted block deal data from exchanges, which revealed that the executive sold over 11.62 lakh shares between April 26 and August 20, 2018 on the NSE.

“Amitabh has appeared for the interview and a final approval from the Reserve Bank is pending,” a source privy to the development told the publication.

Market Opens: Equities have begun the last trading session for the week on a sombre note, with the Nifty hovering around 11,550. The Sensex is trading flat. All sectoral indices are trading in the red, with maximum cuts visible in banks, FMCG, and metals, among others. Among broader markets, midcaps, too have taken a hit, down about a quarter of a percent.

The Sensex is down 28.95 points or 0.08% at 38307.81, and the Nifty down 20.90 points or 0.18% at 11561.90. The market breadth is positive as 346 shares advanced, against a decline of 187 shares, while 48 shares were unchanged.

Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and HCL Tech are the top gainers, while ICICI Bank, Vedanta, Hindalco and Bharti Infratel have lost the most.

Rupee Opens: The Indian rupee opened lower by 8 paise at 70.19 per dollar on Thursday versus previous close 70.11.

The dollar-rupee August contract on the NSE was at 70.14 in the previous session. August contract open interest increased 3.99% in the previous session, said ICICIdirect.

We expect the USD-INR to find supports at lower levels. Utilise downsides in the pair to initiate long positions, it added.

Market at pre-open: Pre-opening rates indicate positive opening for the market with Nifty trading around 11,600, while Sensex gained 150 points at 38,500.

At 09:01 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 150.33 points or 0.39% at 38487.09, and the Nifty up 3.00 points or 0.03% at 11585.80.

L&T, Britannia, Ruchi Soya are some of the gainers, while Sun Pharma, Hexaware are trading lower.