Sensex rebounds to end 125 pts higher; metals, PSU banks cap upside

NEW DELHI: Dalal Street bulls recovered from afternoon blip and ended in the green on Monday thanks to buying in private bank shares while selling in metal and PSU banks were a drag.

Sentiments in the broader market were weak. The upbeat US job data also put some pressure as investors saw it as a signal for earlier than expected tapering. The ongoing retail frenzy can counter any downside in India in the short run, said an analyst.

The 30-share pack Sensex climbed 125.13 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 54,402.85. The index traded in a range of 460 points. Its broader peer NSE Nifty dropped 20.05 points or 0.12 per cent to 16,258.25.

"We witnessed profit booking in metal stocks today as the Street reacted to the earnings released post-market on Friday. Accumulation was seen in many high-quality midcaps. It is interesting to note that the holding of retail Investors in NSE listed companies have reached close to 7.2 per cent as of June 30th," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities.

Market at a glance:

• Quick Heal tanks 18 per cent after a poor performance in Q1
• BASF India rallies 7 per cent after the co turns profitable in Q1
• IPO watch: Nuvoco Vistas subscribed 13 per cent, CarTrade 33 per cent
• M&M rises over 2 per cent after June quarter earnings
• Metal stocks under pressure; Nifty Metal top loser

Among the blue-chip names, M&M was the top gainer, rising 2.23 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Cipla, Nestle India and Dr Reddy’s Labs were other gainers.

Tata Consumer was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 1.98 per cent. Cola India, Adani Ports, SBI Life Insurance, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel were others that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended lower, underperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap fell 0.91 per cent and Nifty Midcap dropped 0.73 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended down 0.14 per cent.

BASF, TV18 Broadcast, PVR, IRCTC, Ipca Labs and Laurus Labs were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 3-8 per cent.

Future Retail, Strides Pharma, Edelweiss Financial Services, Dhani Services, SAIL and Balkrishna Industries were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 4-10 per cent.

Sectoral matrix was mixed on the NSE. Nifty Media climbed 1.09 per cent, followed by Nifty Private Bank that added 0.69 per cent. Nifty Metal was the top loser, down 1.87 per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Bank

Market breadth was in favour of losers as 1,291 stocks ended in the green, while 2,039 names settled with cuts. As many as 370 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 35 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 365 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 380 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading mixed. London-based FTSE was down 0.29 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt advanced 0.03 per cent and declined 0.08 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia registered losses, while the rest ended in the green. Japan and Singapore markets were closed for trading.