Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates : Sensex up 160pts, Nifty muted; Bank, FS, Realty gain, broader markets fall

While Power Grid Corp. was the top gainer on Nifty, up more than 4%, Hero MotoCorp was the top loser, down nearly 4%.

IT and Pharma stocks were the top drag on Sensex.

Climing off the day’s lows, Indian benchmark indices were in the green at noon on Tuesday.

After opening at 72,727.87, Sensex had fallen to a low of 72,510.24, earlier in the day, while, Nifty had touched a low of 22,045.85.

At 12 pm, Sensex was up 167.04.68 points, or 0.23%, at 72,875.20 and Nifty was up 20.55 points, or 0.09%, at 22,142.80.

After rising for five straight sessions, Indian stock market is under pressure in the early morning session on Tuesday as Asian stocks find little cheer from China’s interest rate cut. However, despite a strong rally on Dalal Street, some quality stocks remained almost non-participant and they are still available at a discounted price. Shares of HDFC Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) are one of them.

While the SBI share price seems bottomed out at the end of January 2024 at around ₹605 apiece levels and the banking stock has risen around 25 percent since then HDFC Bank share price has given zero return in YTD. HDFC Bank share price has dipped over 15 percent in YTD time. (Read the full story here.)

Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO of CarDekho, is one of the judges on Shark Tank India Season 3. He spoke exclusively to LiveMint’s Sounak Mukhopadhyay on his philosophy, strategy and mission to build Bharat 2.0. (Read edited excerpts here.)

The stock market’s engines may have more steam left despite Nifty’s new peak fuelling valuation jitters, analysts said. This is because even as valuations exceed the historic average, earnings of Nifty companies have raced ahead as well.

On Monday, bulls kept up the momentum amid thin volumes to drive the Nifty to a new high, led by ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and Bajaj Finance. (Read the full report here.)

Indian benchmark indices were muted on Tuesday.

At 11 am, Sensex was up 8.68 points, or 0.01%, at 72,716.84 and Nifty was down 27.05 points, or 0.12%, at 22,095.

Reliance Industries share price has risen more than 30% since its closing lows in October’2023. While the investor confidence on Reliance Industries earnings prospects has improved significantly with Retail business and Jio businesses showing regular uptick in earnings, there was some weakness seen in Reliance Industries Oil to chemicals (O2C) business as was evident from Q3 Results. Analysts now see rebound in in earning prospects for Oil to Chemical business of Reliance Industries with strengthening of Diesel spreads and those for Petrochem. (Read the full story here.)

Shares of Federal Bank fell down over 6% on the NSE in early deals on Tuesday after larger private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank re-designated KVS Manian as the joint managing director. Manian was reportedly being considered by Federal Bank to succeed Shyam Srinivasan as the managing director and chief executive officer of Federal Bank. On February 15, CNBC-TV18 had reported citing unidentified sources that Federal Bank has shortlisted two internal candidates along with Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Manian for the corner office.

The stellar rally in Indian equities that’s made them an investor favorite has run into headwinds that go beyond elevated valuations.

Earnings misses, the attractiveness of rival markets amid expectations of a dovish policy shift by the Federal Reserve and a nascent recovery in Chinese equities are casting doubts over India extending a rally that saw the nation’s main gauges posting a record eighth straight year of gains in 2023. (Read the full story here.)

State-run Coal India is likely to miss its financial year 2024 production target of 780 MT, its Chairman PM Prasad said during an earnings conference. He added that the company’s e-auction premium has fallen from 117% in December to 45% in the current quarter. E-auctions formed 15% of the company’s overall topline in the December quarter, coming in at ₹5,233 crore out of the company’s ₹33,000 crore topline.

Indian benchmark indices opened in the red on Wednesday, tracking weakness in Asian markets.

At 10 am, Sensex was down 99.16 points, or 0.14%, at 72,609 and Nifty was down 48.30 points, or 0.22%, at 22,033.

The IT services firm, Tech Mahindra said it has acquired 100% stake in Orchid Cybertech Services (OCSI) through its wholly owned subsidiary for a consideration of A$5 million, the company announced in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, February 20. “We wish to inform that the company through its wholly owned subsidiary viz., vCustomer Philippines Inc has today i.e. February 20, 2024 at 05:55 am (IST), approved the acquisition of 100% equity shares in Orchid Cybertech Services,” it stated in the regulatory filing.

In a dramatic twist, Zee Entertainment and Sony Group Corporation are re-engaging in talks to salvage their $10 billion merger, two years after it was called off. Representatives from both sides have held meetings in Mumbai, aiming to overcome key differences and reach an agreement within the next 48 hours, according to a report by Economic Times.

The white goods manufacturer’s promoter, Whirlpool Mauritius Ltd, will sell 24% stake worth $451 million ( ₹3,745 crore) in the company through a block deal on Tuesday, as per a term sheet reviewed by Mint. The liquidity from the stake sale will help the American multinational company pare its debt and deleverage its balance sheet. The block deal will be offered at a floor price of ₹1,230 per share, representing a 7.6% discount from Monday’s closing price of ₹1,331.20 on the NSE.

Across sectors, auto and banking stocks were the most under pressure.  

The Smallcap and Midcap indices were holding onto gains despite weakness in the benchmark indices. 

Across sectors, the Auto index was down more than 1%.

The Banking index was under pressure on the BSE. 

Eicher Motors, Coal India, HDFC Life, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj FinServ, were the top losers on Nifty.

Banking and IT stocks were under pressure at opening bell on Sensex.

Indian benchmark indices opened in the red on Wednesday, tracking weakness in other Asian markets.

At opening bell, Sensex was down 121.09 points, or 0.17%, at 72,587.07 and Nifty was down 42.25 points, or 0.19%, at 22,080.

Indian benchmark indices had a muted start at pre-open on Tuesday, tracking weakness in other Asian markets. The US market was closed on Monday due to a holiday.

At pre-open, Sensex was up 22.53 points, or 0.03%, at 72,730.69 and Nifty was down 23.05 points, or 0.1%, at 22,099.20.

Bank Nifty has made a lower top on the daily charts with some bout of profit booking in psu banks while pvt banks remained flat to positive for the day.

The median average of 45,500 would be a good support for the broader positive momentum to continue and on the higher side 46,800 will give a strong breakout from current levels.

RSI is trending above the average line and we expect the momentum to consolidate at current levels as other indicators are also moving in tandem.

Bank Nifty highest call OI is at 47,000 levels while on the downside put OI will has moved higher to 46,000 levels.

NIFTY-50 has scaled a new all time high and we expect some resistance near to 22,400 levels being the highest call OI in the weekly expiry.

The hourly support range has moved higher to 22,000 levels and on the downside the trend reversal level has moved higher to 21,600 levels.

RSI is overbought on hourly charts and other key technical indicators are poised for some consolidation from current levels.

Highest call OI is at with 22,400 strike while on the downside the highest put OI has moved higher to 22,000 for the weekly expiry.

In a dramatic twist, Zee Entertainment and Sony Group Corporation are re-engaging in talks to salvage their $10 billion merger, two years after it was called off. Representatives from both sides have held meetings in Mumbai, aiming to overcome key differences and reach an agreement within the next 48 hours, according to a report by Economic Times. (Read the full report here.)

The domestic benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty 50, ended in green for the fifth straight session on Monday, led by gains in pharma, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and consumer durable stocks.

During Monday’s session, the Nifty 50 touched a fresh all-time high of 22,186.65 before closing 81.55 points, or 0.37%, higher at 22,122.25. At 72,708.16, the Sensex ended at a gain of 281.52 points, or 0.39%. (Read the full report here.)

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher believes that the outlook for the Indian stock market is highly bullish. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert went on to add that the Nifty 50 index is now heading for the immediate target of 22,400 and 22,800 levels. However, Parekh said that Nifty today has crucial support placed at 21,800 level and any dip in the index should be seen as a buying opportunity. (Read the full report here.)

A total of 11 stocks have been put under the ban for trade on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as it crossed 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), according to the NSE.

However, the stocks will be available for trading in the cash market. (Read the full report here.)

Shares of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Coal India Ltd, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, MSTC Ltd, Power Finance Corporation Ltd, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Centum Electronics Ltd, Amrutanjan Health Care Ltd, Hikal Ltd, Majestic Auto Ltd, Precision Wires India Ltd, Refex Industries Limited, TCI Express Ltd, and Choice International Ltd will be in focus when the stock market opens on February 20 (Tuesday). (Read the details here.)

The Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open flat on Tuesday following mixed global cues.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a tepid start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 22,141 level as compared to the Nifty futures’ previous close of 22,160.

The domestic equity indices ended higher for the fifth straight session on Monday, with the Nifty hitting an all-time high on the intraday charts. (Read the full story here.)

The domestic equity market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a flat note on Tuesday tracking mixed global market cues.

Asian markets traded mixed as China’s central bank cut the benchmark five-year loan prime rate for the first time since June. The US stock futures were muted amid lack of fresh triggers.

Meanwhile, investors now eye the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting due on Wednesday for more clues on its interest rate cut timing. (Read the full story here.)

Gift Nifty futures, which were at 22,139.50 at 7:40 am, were marginally ahead of Monday’s Nifty close of 22,122.25.

But Gift Nifty was down from Monday’s, and also its all-time-high, of 22,186 that Nifty touched during the day’s trade, indicating a slow start for markets on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks held to tight ranges Tuesday as investors awaited fresh catalysts after US markets were closed for a holiday Monday.

Stocks in Australia fell, while those in Japan eked out a gain. Futures for Hong Kong shares edged higher, and contracts for US equities were little changed.

A gauge of global stocks was just 1.1% from its peak after the S&P 500 set a fresh record last week, while the region-wide Euro Stoxx 50 hovered near a two-decade high.