Sensex, Nifty scale down from day’s high but end with gains; RIL slips, defence, pharma stocks shine

Bharat Forge gained 3%, BEL jumped over 9%, and HAL was up 8%.

Domestic equity benchmarks started this week’s trading with gains, ending in the green for the third consecutive trading session. The 30-share Sensex was up 141 points at 38,182, while the broader Nifty 50 was ruling 11,274 on closing. Globally the sentiment was lifted as the President of the United States signed an executive order to provide tax relief and stopgap unemployment benefits for Americans hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Defence and pharma stocks were in focus today trading with significant gains.

Top gainer: Larsen & Touro were the top Sensex gainers followed by Emami and Divis Lab in the midcap space. Among small cap stocks, PPAP Automotive, Nucleus, and Nila gained over 19%.

Top losers: Reliance Industries pulled the equity markets down slipping 1.2%. Concor was down over 15% in the midcap space. Nath Biogen, Vimta labs were the top laggards among small cap stocks.

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Defence stocks surge: After the Ministry of Defence unveiled a list of 101 items to be placed under an embargo to boost local manufacturing, defence stocks skyrocketed today. Bharat Forge gained 3%, BEL jumped over 9%, and HAL was up 8%. “Todays Trade was characterised by heightened activity in Defence & Pharmaceutical stocks, the former due to the proposed changes being implemented favoring domestic producers and the latter due to earnings beat on the quarterly results,” S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities. 

Also Read: L&T, BEL, Bharat Forge, other defence stocks gain as Government looks to push local manufacturing

Sectoral watch: All sectoral indices ended with gains, with Nifty pharma ending over 5% higher. Nifty Realty and Nifty IT were the other top gainers. “Sectoral news flow boosted positivity in the Indian markets with Pharma index leading the gains. The gains were news driven, with earnings results and government actions accounting for sectoral gains,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. 

What do the Charts say: “We have kept above the 11250 level which is a bullish sign. The Nifty should attempt 11500 as its next price target. The support continues to be at 11100,” said Manish Hathiramani, Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.