Market Commentary - End-Session
Indices rise for 6th day, Nifty ends near 22,200; private banks climb As on : 20-Feb-24  17:23

The domestic benchmarks continued their upward trend for the sixth day on Tuesday, driven by gains in private banks. The market showed strong resilience, as the Nifty 50 index crossed the significant milestone of 22,000. In contrast, other Asian markets were relatively quiet, as China's attempts to boost its property markets didn't excite investors, and the likelihood of an immediate U.S. interest rate cut diminished. Within the domestic market, there was increased demand for bank, financial services, and media shares, while IT, auto, and metal shares experienced declines.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 349.24 points or 0.48% to 73,057.40. The Nifty 50 index added 74.70 points or 0.34% to 22,196.95.

The benchmark Nifty50 index hit an all-time high at 22,215.60 in late trade. The index has climbed 2.69% or 580.90 points in six consecutive sessions.

Power Grid Corporation of India (up 4.16%), HDFC Bank (up 2.59%) and Axis Bank (up 2.32%) boosted the indices.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap shed 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.18%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1877 shares rose and 1966 shares fell. A total of 88 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.54% to 7.061 as compared with the previous close of 7.099.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.9600, compared with its close of 83.0125 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement rose 0.23% to Rs 62,149.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.23% to 104.06.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.44% to 4.274.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement lost 36 cents or 0.43% to $83.11 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Tuesday, influenced by the closure of US markets in the preceding session.

The People's Bank of China took an unexpected step by reducing its five-year benchmark loan prime rate on Tuesday, aiming to further ease monetary conditions and support the decelerating economic recovery. The cut in the five-year LPR, instrumental in determining mortgage rates, lowered it from 4.10% to 3.95%, while the one-year LPR remained unchanged at 3.45%.

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently down by 152 points, signaling a negative opening for US stocks today. This decline is attributed to ongoing uncertainty regarding the trajectory of interest rates. Traders remain cautious and on edge due to the anticipation of key earnings reports, notably from NVIDIA Corporation, adding to the market's overall sense of unpredictability.

New Listing:

Shares of Vibhor Steel Tubes hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 442 on the BSE, representing a premium of 192.72% as compared with the issue price of Rs 151.

The scrip was listed at Rs 421, exhibiting a premium of 178.80% to the issue price. On the BSE, over 1.10 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation (DFPCL) rallied 4% after the company entered into a 15-year supply agreement for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with Equinor ASA, Norway. Equinor, the largest exporter of pipeline gas to Europe and operator of Europe?s only large-scale LNG plant at Hammerfest, Norway, will be supplying up to 0.65 million tonnes of LNG annually for 15 years, beginning in 2026. This partnership not only allows for the trading of some LNG parcels to fulfill the growing demand for LNG in India but also caters to DFPCL's increasing captive needs. The LNG will be delivered to the west coast of India, providing a strategic positioning for meeting the company's requirements.

Federal Bank dropped 5.34% while Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.83% after Kotak Mahindra Bank secured KVS Manian for top position, leaving Federal Bank's CEO candidate search in question.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has promoted KVS Manian, the current whole-time director, to joint managing director, and Shanti Ekambaram, also a whole-time director, to deputy MD, effective from 1 March 2024. This move has raised questions about the ongoing CEO candidate search at Federal Bank, as KVS Manian was reportedly one of the candidates being considered for the MD and CEO position at Federal Bank, along with two internal candidates. This development occurred amid the forthcoming conclusion of the term of Federal Bank's current MD & CEO, Shyam Srinivasan, on 22nd September 2024.

Godrej Consumer Products shed 0.13%. The company and its arm will divest entire stake in its in Mauritius-based unit Godrej East Africa Holdings to HKG Africa Weave for consideration of Rs 30 crore.

Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services zoomed 14.06% after the company entered into agreements with Bennett, Coleman & Co. and Easy Trip Planners (EaseMyTrip).

Vipul Organics surged 20% after the company announced the receipt of environmental clearance for proposed expansion from 10 metric tones per month (MT/M) to 508 MT/M at its Ambernath facility.

Piramal Enterprises shed 0.32%. The NBFC's board will meet on Thursday, 22 February 2024 to consider issuing non-convertible debentures aggregating up to Rs 600 crore on private placement basis.

JSW Infrastructure advanced 2.53% after it received letter of intent (LoI) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) for a work order through public private partnership (PPP) mode.

CIE Automotive India shed 2.43%. The company?s consolidated basis, net profit was reported at Rs 168.94 crore in Q4 December 2023 as against net loss of Rs 657.81 crore in Q4 December 2022. Net sales declined 0.29% YoY to Rs 2240.40 crore in Q4 December 2023. The board approved a final dividend of Rs 5 per share.

Wardwizard Innovations & Mobility jumped 5.64% after the Joy e-bike achieved a milestone of crossing 100,000 sales in India. The company rolled out its 100,000th unit, Mihos from its manufacturing plant in Vadodara to mark the achievement.

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