Sensex gains 150 pts, Nifty holds 8800; HDFC Bank off day’s high
1:28 pm Market Update:Equity benchmarks came off day’s high again after HDFC Bank halved its losses.
The Reserve Bank of India put HDFC Bank back in its FIIs ban list after foreign shareholding in the bank crossed overall limit of 74 percent.
Yesterday, RBI lifted that ban which prompted FIIs to buy big quantity of shares through block deals in early trade today.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 160.41 points at 28461.68 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 41.80 points at 8819.80.
1:20 pm Cash levels post demonetisation: The impact of demonetisation is still visible and cash levels in the economy are not expected to be sufficient until March, which may keep trade volumes depressed for the next two months, says a Nomura report.
As per data released by the commerce ministry, growth in exports in January was lower than 5.72 per cent in December.
The moderation in India’s exports volume suggests that demonetisation may still be affecting cash-intensive export sectors, Nomura said in a research note, adding that “we do not interpret this as a sign of reduced competitiveness”.
“We expect trade volumes to remain subdued for another month or two as we do not expect sufficient cash levels in the economy (for transactions) until the end of March,” Nomura India Chief Economist Sonal Varma said in the note.
1:15 pm Oil Update: Oil prices edged up, lifted by a report that producer club OPEC could extend an output cut aimed at reining in a global fuel supply overhang.
Brent crude futures were trading at USD 55.79 per barrel, up 0.25 percent from their last close.
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1:00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks retained morning gains, with the Nifty hovering around 8850 level, driven by private banking & financials and healthcare stocks. However, technology and FMCG stocks restricted upside.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 262.63 points or 0.93 percent at 28563.90 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 71.05 points or 0.81 percent to 8849.05.
HDFC Bank maintained its leading position in the Sensex, up 5.6 percent after the RBI removed its ban on purchase of shares by FIIs.
Sun Pharma gained for second consecutive session, up 2.75 percent on hopes of early USFDA clearance to its Halol facility, especially after Cadila did not get any observations for its Moriaya facility. Wockhardt also rose 3 percent.
HDFC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Lupin, Cipla and GAIL were other gainers among Sensex stocks, up 1-1.5 percent while TCS and Infosys remained under pressure, down over a percent.
Indiabulls Housing and IOC gained 2-4 percent after addition in Nifty 50 while Bank of India lost as it will be removed from Nifty Bank index with effect from March 31.
