MARKETS: Sensex up 400pts, Nifty holds 17,900; broader indices underperform

Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices were seen hovering near the highs of the day back of strong gains in financial shares.

The BSE Sensex touched a high of 60,333, and was up 430 points at 60,286. The NSE Nifty had added 122 points to 17,927.

The broader indices, however, continued to underperform for the second straight day. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, as against a 0.7 per cent rise in the BSE benchmark.

The overall breadth was marginally positive - out of 3,445 stocks traded on the BSE so far, 1,828 had advanced and 1,533 declined.

In the broader markets, Tata Communications zoomed 9 per cent to hit a record high of Rs 1,542. The company had informed BSE on Tuesday that it and Zain KSA had entered into a strategic engagement to fuel digital transformation journeys of enterprises and government organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). READ MORE

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex has rallied 2.8 per cent. The Metal and Oil & Gas indices were the other major gainers. Whereas, the IT index had declined 1.8 per cent.
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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices extended gains in mid-noon deals, despite bouts of volatilty, as financial shares witnessed unabated buying support.

The BSE Sensex touched a high of 60,262, and was up 370 points at 60,226. The NSE Nifty had added 110 points to 17,915.



The Bajaj twins - Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance - continue to remain the top gainers, up 4.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively. Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the other major gainers. These six stocks put together accounted for near 500-point gain on the Sensex. IT shares up to quite some extend have limited today's market rally, with the likes of Tech Mahindra, Infosys and HCL Technologies down 2-3 per cent each.

In the broader markets, Greaves Cotton has surged as much as 24% in the frist three days of the new year on the back of strong December sales of its EV arm. Greaves Cotton's e-mobility arm Greaves Electric Mobility on Sunday said it sold over 10,000 units in December 2021. Today, the stock was up 11 per cent at the day's high of Rs 171.45 on the BSE. READ MORE

Camlin Fine Sciences, HFCL, AU Bank, Balmer Lawrie, Aster DM Healthcare, IDBI, Filatex India, Chambal Fertilisers, Hikal, Neuland Labs, GRP, Shreyans Industries, Starlineps Enterprises, JHS Svendgaard Labs, Panama Petrochem, Paddar Pigments, Seshasayee Paper, Orbit Exports, Ganesha Ecosphere and NxtDigital were the other major gainers.

On the flip side, Suzlon shed 5 per cent. EID Parry, Bannari Amman Sugar, KCP Sugar, MSP Steel Power, Asain Hotels, ARSS Infra, Bhartiya International, Websol Energy, Omkar Speciality, Ravinder Heights, Aksh Optifibre, GG Engineering, Sintex Plastics and Super Spinning were the other major losers.

Elsewhere in Asia it was a sea for the major markets. China's Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Kospi were all down over a per cent each. Straits Times declined 0.7 per cent, while Taiwan was down 0.1 per cent. Nikkei, however, was up 0.1 per cent.
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Markets at 12 noon

LIVE market updates: The frontline indices were seeing bouts of recovery by noon. The BSE Sensex was up 130 points at 59,987, while the NSE Nifty was 38 points higher at 17,843 level.

Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were trading 5 per cent and 4 per cent higher, respectively, leading the Sensex-30 pack, followed by other banking counters.

On the Nifty, JSW Steel, IOC, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Auto were the additional leading gainers. On the flip side, IT stocks continued to be under pressure and were the top losers.

Meanwhile, among sectors, along with financials, metals and energy stocks were also firm in trade, helping the indices edge higher.

That apart, in the broader market, the BSE MidCap index was putting a good show outperforming the benchmarks, up by 0.24 per cent.

European markets: European stocks are expected to open lower on Wednesday as global markets react to rising U.S. bond yields.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 25 points lower at 7,472, Germany’s DAX 24 points lower at 16,110, France’s CAC 40 down 10 points at 7,299 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 16 points lower at 27,778.

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices were seen recovering slightly in early morning deals in a volatile market. The BSE Sensex was up nearly 100 points at 59,962, and the NSE Nifty was at 17,839, higher by 34 points.

Banking counters were the leading gainers with Nifty Bank index up 1.2 per cent. The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj twins(up 2 per cent), followed by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, up per cent each.

Metal stocks were also strong with APL Apollo, Jindal Steel, SAIL, JSW Steel, NMDC, HindCopper, Tata Steel, up between 0.6-1.8 per cent.

On the flip side, IT and Pharma stocks were the major laggards. Tech Mahindra, HCL Technology, Wipro, Infosys, and TCS were trading 0.8-2 per cent lower on the BSE.

Among stocks, shares of Thermax rallied 7 per cent to Rs 1,923.55 on the BSE after the company announced it sealed an order worth Rs 545.6 crore from an Indian power public sector company to set up flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems for their two units of 500 MW capacity each in the state of Uttar Pradesh. READ MORE

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices started on a flattish note for the fourth day amid mixed global cues. The BSE Sensex was up 40 points at 59,898, while the NSE Nifty50 was 17 points higher at 17,822.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were in the green zone and were up 0.3 and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

Among the Sensex-30 constituents, Bajaj twins, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Maruti, Nestle and M&M were the top gainers, up between 0.5-1.9 per cent. On the Nifty, IOC and Bajaj Auto were the additonal gainers.

Meanwhile, major losers on the Sensex included HCL Technology, TechMahindra, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, RIL, TCS, Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel, down between 0.7-1.9 per cent.

Among sectors, IT and Pharma indices were the top losers, down 1 and 0.3 per cent each on the NSE.

Notably, among stocks, Thermax was trading 5 per cent higher on the BSE after the company bagged an order of Rs 545.6 crore from a power public sector unit to set up two flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems for its two units of 500 megawatts (MW) capacity each in Uttar Pradesh.

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices indicated a flat start on Wednesday as the BSE Sensex was down 10 points at 59,845, while the NSE Nifty too was around 3 points lower at 17,802 in the pre-open session.

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Global cues

The US markets ended on a mixed note amid selective profit-taking. The Dow Jones gained 0.6 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, oil prices jumped to the highest levels since November 2021 even as OPEC+ agreed to stick with its planned production increase in February, citing only a mild impact on demand owing to the Omicron variant. On Tuesday, Brent Crude rose 1.3 per cent to $ 80 a barrel, and WTI Crude added 1.2 per cent to $ 76.99 a barrel.

This morning the major markets in Asia were mostly down. Kospi had dropped over a per cent. Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite had declined over 0.5 per cent each. Taiwan too was down 0.1 per cent. However, Straits Times advanced 0.4 per cent, and Nikkei was flat.