Sensex Today | Market Close Highlights : Nifty, Sensex break 6 day winning streak, close in red; Media, IT top losers

Sensex Today Live : Breaking their 6-day winning streak, Indian benchmark indices nosedived sharply in the closing hours to close the day in red.

Sensex had climbed to a high of 73,267.80, but erased the gains in a day marked with muted movement and volatile trade to close down 434.31 points, or 0.59%, at 72,623.09.

Meanwhile, the Nifty had climbed to an intraday high of 22,249.40. At close, it was down 141.90 points, or 0.64%, at 22,055.05.

In the broader market, almost all major indices were in the red, barring Realty, PSU Bank, Metal and FMCG.

Media, IT, Oil & Gas indices emerged as the biggest losers. Nifty Bank closed 0.16% down.

Indicating the weakness in the broader market, the Midcap and Smallcap index closed down more than 1%.

Sensex Today Live : Rights Issue will open on 6th March 2024 with issuance of up to 15,11,41,500 Equity shares at Rs. 3 per equity share totalling up to ₹49 crores.

Shareholders will be entitled to one Right equity share for each fully paid-up equity share held as of the record date of February 23, 2024.

Sensex Today Live : Strong quarter ends a bonanza CY23

Residential segment continues to shine

Outlook: Anticipating further growth

India Real Estate breached the previous peak levels (in CY22) led by sustained demand momentum. And CY24 is on course to continue the trend provided no major headwinds obstruct construction activities. The industry is witnessing demand consolidation towards grade A developers, a trend that is projected to persist. The launch pipeline by these developers is expected to strengthen further through new land acquisitions in strategic locations and growth corridors.

Office portfolios may expand further as hybrid working evolves with strong ‘office-first’ approach. India’s growth ecosystem attracts both domestic and foreign occupiers, with global corporations making substantial investments and domestic occupiers expanding. These dynamics are set to bolster office market fundamentals in 2024.

Sensex Today Live : In the broader market, almost all major indices were in the red, barring Realty, PSU Bank, Metal and FMCG that were in the gree. Media and IT stocks emerged as the biggest losers. 

Indicating the weakness in the broader market, the Midcap index was down more than 1%, with the Smallcap index down by nearly the same amount.

Sensex Today Live : BPCL, Coal india, NTPC, Power Grid Corp., and HDFC life, were the top losers on Nifty.

Sensex Today Live : Tata Steel, SBI, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank were the top gainers on Sensex. 

Sensex Today Live : Amid a day marked with significant volatility, Indian benchmark indices nosedived in the closing hours of the trading session to the day’s low.

At 3 pm, Sensex was trending down 494.35 points, or 0.68%, at 72,563.35 and Nifty was down 164.75 points, or 0.74%, at 22,032.20.

Sensex Today Live : The automobile industry played a pivotal role in boosting overall corporate earnings growth during the December quarter (Q3FY24), with most automakers experiencing a year-on-year increase in sales volumes last quarter, positively impacting their revenue performance.

Sure, growth rates varied across companies, but the path was led by the two-wheeler segment with Bajaj Auto Ltd, TVS Motor Co. Ltd, and Hero MotoCorp Ltd seeing revenue growth of 21-30%. This show was the result of superior volume performance in the segment. However, Eicher Motors Ltd, the listed parent of Royal Enfield, bucked the trend as weak exports took a toll on its volumes. (Read the full story here.)

Sensex Today Live : The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has rolled out a new ‘lesser penalty plus’ regime, aimed at incentivising individuals and cartels already under scrutiny to provide information about other cartels that the regulator does not know about. The ‘lesser penalty plus regulation 2024’ was notified late on Tuesday night and came into effect immediately.

The scheme, which was made law last year by amending the Competition Act, adds a new dimension to existing ‘lesser penalty’ leniency regime, under which the CCI may waive or reduce the penalty on an entity (person or company) involved in a cartel if this entity makes a full and true disclosure of alleged violations. If a second participant comes clean, they are eligible for a waiver of up to 50% of the penalty.

The new regime offers a further 30% reduction in the penalty to the second cartel participant to come clean if they disclose the existence of another cartel in an unrelated market. This entity will also be eligible for a full waiver of any penalty that arises from an investigation into the newly disclosed cartel.

Sensex Today Live : Despite an almost 27 percent jump since November, global brokerage house Jefferies has downgraded the pharma stock Biocon to ‘underperform’ from ‘hold’. However, Jefferies has maintained its target price of ₹250 for the stock, implying an 11 percent downside from its current market price of ₹281.50.

“We downgrade Biocon to Underperform from Hold with an unchanged PT of ₹250. We are 17-19 percent below consensus for FY25-26 and believe earnings downgrades will continue due to a lack of new launches in the biosimilars segment and a weak FY25 outlook for Syngene due to a lack of major manufacturing contract wins. With weak free cash flow (FCF) generation, high leverage will hurt Biocon unless it looks at fundraise options, like stake sale in biosimilars and Syngene,” the brokerage said.

Sensex Today Live : Deem Roll Tech IPO has opened for subscription on Tuesday, February 20, and will close on Thursday, February 22. Deem Roll Tech IPO price band has been set at ₹129 apiece. Deem Roll Tech IPO lot size consists of 1,000 shares. Investors can bid for a minimum of 1,000 shares and in multiples thereof.

Supported by a first-generation businessman and a technocrat, Deem Roll Tech produces premium steel and alloy rolls in India. The company’s rolls are used both domestically and internationally in the rolling mill sectors for steel and iron. (Read the details here.)

Sensex Today Live : Benchmark indices dipped into the red amid volatile market on Wednesday.

At 2 pm, Sensex was down 163.47 points, or 0.22%, at 72,893.93 and Nifty was up 55.55 points, or 0.25%, at 22,141.40.

Sensex Today Live : Atmastco IPO Allotment Status: The initial public offering (IPO) of Atmastco Ltd, an EPC contractor, ended on Tuesday, February 20, and investors now eagerly wait to check their IPO allotment status.

Atmastco IPO allotment date is most likely today, February 21. The SME IPO received a strong response from the primary market investors as seen in the IPO subscription status.

The ₹56.25 crore worth Atmastco IPO opened for public subscription on February 15 and ended on February 20. The issue was booked 17.61 times against its offer size. (Read the details here.)

Sensex Today Live : Tourism Finance Corp share price was locked in 5% upper circuit after investor Aditya Halwasiya acquired 13% stake, as per moneycontrol’s news report. Tourism Finance Corp share price opened at ₹231.05 apiece on BSE.

Aditya Halwasiya purchased 1,18,02,094 equity shares of Tourism Finance Corporation of India at an average cost of ₹209.75 per share, according moneycontrol’s news report. However, Varanium India Opportunity, a foreign investor, sold all 30,97,461 equity shares of the firm exiting the stock. 10,04,400 equity shares were also offloaded by Varanium Capital Advisors.

Sensex Today Live : The global monetary tightening cycle has ended, ushering in a prolonged pause in interest rate adjustments. The fixed-income investors need to assess their portfolios in light of the changing global and domestic monetary landscape.

While a pause in the global tightening cycle provides stability, astute investors can strategically position themselves in duration-focused funds to capitalize on potential opportunities arising from the flattening yield curve and the expected decline in long-term bond yields.

Markets tend to react before the start of a rate cutting cycle and analysts believe the current yields offer a good opportunity for investors to increase their allocation to fixed income as slowing growth and moderating inflation is likely to lead to rate cuts in 2024.

Indian benchmark indices were trading flat amid a volatile market on Wednesday.

At 1 pm, Sensex was up 120.18 points, or 0.16%, at 73,177.58 and Nifty was up 34.85 points, or 0.16%, at 22,231.80.

Sensex Today Live : There has been a deepening sense of gloom in hiring in the information technology (IT) sector in the past few quarters. The combined headcount at the top five Indian companies by revenue dropped by about 65,000 in 2023. The number of job offers in the sector in December 2023 declined 21% over December 2022 and 4% over September 2023, according to jobs platform Naukri.com. Although this pullback is unfolding amid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), that’s not why IT companies have slowed hiring. They are adjusting to the muted demand for IT services. As that picks up, so will hiring. (Read the full story here.)

Sensex Today Live : The Red Sea crisis has disrupted shipping routes, pushing refining margins significantly higher. The benchmark Singapore gross refining margin is seeing an uptrend, currently up more than 56% compared to the December quarter (Q3FY24).

This trend is poised to benefit refiners, including Reliance Industries’s oil-to-chemicals (O2C) segment, which accounted for more than 36% of its consolidated Ebitda for the nine months ended December. (Read the full story here.)

Nifty Media was the top loser among sector indices, while Realty, PSU Bank and Metal indices were the top gainers. 

Sensex Today Live : Power Grid Corp., BPCL, Infosys, LTIMindtree and Axis bank were the top losers on Nifty. 

Sensex Today Live : IT stocks Infosys and HCL Tech were among the top losers on Sensex.

Indian benchmark indices were trading flat amid a volatile market on Wednesday.

At 12 pm, Sensex was up 50.52 points, or 0.07%, at 73,107.92 and Nifty was up 16.90 points, or 0.08%, at 22,213.85.

The broader market was also witnessing some weakness, with the Midcap index down 0.3%.

Sensex Today Live : Coal India’s realization from coal sold through the e-auction route picked up sequentially in the three months ended December (Q3FY24), after falling for four straight quarters.

The e-auction premium over coal sold through fuel supply agreement (FSA) prices stood at 117% in Q3 against 84% in Q2 aided by higher global coal prices. But it’s too soon to rejoice this as e-auction realization are poised to drop sequentially in Q4. (Read the full story here.)

Sensex Today Live : The ongoing rally in Indian small cap stocks has boosted the MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap index. Over the past year it has gained 16.5%, beating the large cap index’s return of around 9%.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap index includes small cap companies from 24 emerging markets. Indian companies have a weight of 27.82% in the index, followed by Taiwanese companies with 22.24% and South Korean firms with 12.4%. (Read the full story here.)

Sensex Today Live : The government, vide CBIC notification dated 19 February 2024, has fully exempted custom duty on import of extra-long staple (ELS) cotton ‘Other: of staple length exceeding 32.0mm’ covered under ‘HS 5201 00 25’.

The import duty on cotton of <32mm fiber length may continue as earlier at 5% plus agricultural infrastructural and development cess and surcharge, taking the total to 11%.

Elara Securities India’s View

This notification pertains to the import of ELS variety of cotton. US Pima and Egyptian Giza, which are premium cotton, come under this variety.

This exemption may benefit exporters the most as generally customers require their products to be made from premium cotton such as US PIMA or Egyptian GIZA.

In such cases, import duty on cotton is adjusted against the export benefits received by the exporter and hence, results in lower accrual of benefit to them.

With this exemption in custom duty, exporters may be in a position to use the export benefit fully. This may result in improved competitiveness of Indian exporters for premium products, resulting in higher volume of premium products.

It could also result in slight margin improvement for exporters (the share of premium products is lower in overall sales).

India has sufficient cotton in staple length <32mm and hence, imports are almost insignificant in those varieties.

Impact on companies

Ambika Cotton, Himatsingka Seide, Indo Count Industries, Welspun Living, Indo Count Industries, and Trident among others are likely to benefit.

Directionally, this may be positive for spinners and the entire value chain, though the journey is long as regards removal of import duty on all varieties.

Indian benchmark indices were trading flat on Wednesday.

At 12 am, Sensex was up 6.98 points, or 0.01%, at 73,064.38 and Nifty was up 8 points, or 0.04%, at 22,204.95.

Sensex Today Live : The Indian economy continued to sustain the momentum achieved in the first half of 2023-24, going by high-frequency indicators and the expectations of a fresh round of capex by the corporate sector are likely to fuel the next leg of growth, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its February Bulletin released on Tuesday.

The funds raised through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) for capex and initial public offerings (IPOs) remained robust during the second and third quarters of the current financial year, though their levels were lower than such resources raised during Q1 2023-24.

The central bank also added in its monthly State of the Economy article that India’s inflation expectations may stabilise and edge down going ahead but renewed pressures from cereals and proteins cannot be ruled out.

Sensex Today Live : Reserve Bank of India officials have exhorted private companies to lead the way in expanding capital expenditure, a space dominated by the government.

The corporate sector must “get its act together” and relieve the government of capex heavy-lifting, the officials say in RBI’s February bulletin, reflecting a view expressed by industry experts as well.

“Expectations for a fresh round of capex by the corporate sector to take the baton from the government and fuel the next leg of growth are mounting,” the RBI officials said in the article titled ‘State of the Economy’.

India’s economy continues to sustain the momentum achieved in the first half of 2023-24, and the likelihood of the global economy exhibiting stronger-than-expected growth has brightened, the officials added.

While the article was written by RBI officials, it had the usual disclaimer that the views were those of the authors and not of the central bank.

Sensex Today Live : ABB India share price surged over 6% on Wednesday’s trading session as Q4 CY2023 result exceeded the Street’s estimates. The company follows a fiscal year that spans from January to December. ABB India share price opened at an intraday low of ₹4,622.30 and touched an intraday high of ₹4,799.95.

According to Rajesh Bhosale, Equity Technical and Derivative Analyst, Angel One, ABB India stock prices have seen a strong gap-up opening, and we are seeing heavy volumes in the initial trades. Considering the momentum, we can expect further upmoves and retests of recent highs around ₹4,950; support is seen at ₹4,650.

The public sector lender on Tuesday said the Committee of Directors for Raising Capital Funds has approved the raising of funds up to ₹3,000 crore via qualified institutions placement (QIP), it announced in an exchange filing. Union Bank of India said it approved the floor price of ₹142.78 per equity share for the issue and approved the opening of the issue today, i.e. February 20, 2024.

Devyani International: Yum Restaurants India is likely to sell its entire 4.4% stake in quick service restaurant firm Devyani International through a block deal to raise ₹814.8 crore, CNBC-TV18 reported on February 20 quoting sources. The floor price of the deal is likely fixed at ₹153.5 per share, a 7.6% discount to Devyani International’s closing price on Tuesday. As of December 30, Yum Restaurants India held 5 crore shares in Devyani International. Devyani International is the largest franchisee for Yum Brands which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in India and the sole franchisee for Costa Coffee.

Indian benchmark indices opened Flat on Wednesday, taking cues from wobbly global markets.

At 10 am, Sensex was up 165.53 points, or 0.23%, at 73,056.87 and Nifty was up 49.10 points, or 0.22%, at 22,246.05.

India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has unearthed a financial discrepancy exceeding $240 million, or around ₹2,000 crore in the accounts of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Bloomberg reported. This comes as another setback for the beleaguered media firm, occurring within a month of the collapse of its merger with Sony Group Corp’s India unit.

As part of its investigation into Zee founders, SEBI has disclosed that approximately ₹2,000 crore ($241 million) may have been redirected from the company. This amount is nearly ten times more than SEBI investigators initially estimated. (Read the full story here.)

The company has decided to take its US subsidiary Novelis Inc. public, 17 years after the Aditya Birla group flagship snapped up the top aluminium maker that now fetches over half of its revenue. In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Novelis said it has submitted a confidential filing for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The IPO will be a secondary sale of shares by Hindalco, meaning Novelis will not receive any capital as part of the offer. Hindalco owns 100% of Novelis.

Across sectors, Nifty Bank was marginally up at 0.04%, while Realty, Metal were top gainers, with both indices up more than 1%.

The broader market indices were in the green in early trades on Wednesday.

Hindalco Industries was the biggest gainer on the Nifty.

JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Airtel and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers on Sensex, while Infosys, Power Grid Corp., Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and Nestle were the top losers.

Indian benchmark indices opened Flat on Wednesday, taking cues from wobbly global markets.

At opening bell, Sensex was at 73,056.87 and Nifty was up 10.40 points, or 0.05%, at 22,207.35.

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were in the green at pre-open on Wednesday, despite weakness in global peers.

During pre-open, Sensex was up 210.53 points, or 0.29%, at 73,267.93 and Nifty was up 51.90 points, or 0.23%, at 22,248.85 during pre-open.

Hindalco Industries Ltd has decided to take its US subsidiary Novelis Inc. public, 17 years after the Aditya Birla group flagship snapped up the top aluminium maker that now fetches over half of its revenue.

In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Novelis said it has submitted a confidential filing for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The IPO will be a secondary sale of shares by Hindalco, meaning Novelis will not receive any capital as part of the offer. Hindalco holds 100% of Novelis. (Read the full story here.)

India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has unearthed a financial discrepancy exceeding $240 million, or around ₹2,000 crore in the accounts of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Bloomberg reported. This comes as another setback for the beleaguered media firm, occurring within a month of the collapse of its merger with Sony Group Corp’s India unit.

As part of its investigation into Zee founders, SEBI has disclosed that approximately ₹2,000 crore ($241 million) may have been redirected from the company. This amount is nearly ten times more than SEBI investigators initially estimated. (Read the full story here.)

Domestic market benchmark Nifty 50 crossed the coveted 22,000 mark for the first time, hitting its fresh record high of 22,215.60, in intraday trade in the previous session, with shares of HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Power Grid among the top contributors. The domestic market witnessed significant volatility on Tuesday, with the Nifty 50 index swinging 170 points during the session. (Read the full story here.)

Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), JK Lakshmi Cement, MRF, Hero MotoCorp, SJVN, Sula Vineyards, Mrs. Bectors Food Specialities, Cummins India, Electrosteel Castings, NCL Industries, PI Industries, PlatinumOne Business Services, Premco Global, Saregama India, Uniparts India, United Van Der Horst, and Eastern Logica Infoway will be in focus when the stock market opens on February 21 (Wednesday).

The Board of Directors of these companies have declared interim dividend and bonus issue for their eligible shareholders. (Read the details here.)

The Indian stock market ended higher for the fifth straight session on Tuesday, February 20. Throughout the day, the Nifty reached a high of 22,215.6 and a low of 22,045.85. The Sensex traded between 73,130.69 and 72,510.24, ultimately closing at 72,708.16, a 0.48% increase compared to the opening price, with a gain of 349.24 points. The Bank Nifty ended at 46,535.5, reaching an intraday high of 47,136.75 and a low of 46,367.8. (Read the full story here.)

The Indian stock market indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, are expected to open on a cautious note Wednesday amid weak global cues.

The trends on Gift Nifty indicate a mildly positive start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 22,265 level as compared to the Nifty futures’ previous close of 22,232.

On February 20, the domestic equity indices settled higher, gains for the sixth consecutive session, with the benchmark Nifty 50 hitting its fresh record high in intraday trade. (Read the full story here.)

The domestic equity indices are expected to open on a cautious note on Wednesday as global market cues remain weak.

Asian markets traded lower, while the US stocks ended in the red overnight amid receding hopes of an early interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Investors now await the release of minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting as well as remarks from a slew of central bank officials later this week. (Read the full story here.)