Market Movers: Banks, telcos surge; RIL hits record high, 82 stocks flash buy signals

Mumbai: Banking stocks were back in vogue on Friday, which along with firm world markets drove the Indian equity indices higher after a pause in Thursday's trade. However, the outlook from here on looks uncertain, as analysts say stocks may have rallied ahead of ground realities.

Lenders contributed the most gains for frontline indices Sensex and Nifty. While Sensex climbed 307 points to close at 34,287, Nifty rose 113 points and inched closer to the 10,150 mark. Top lender State Bank of India was the biggest Sensex gainer, as it jumped 7.90 per cent after reporting a forecast-beating four-fold jump in March quarter profit at Rs 3,580 crore.

Here is a lowdown on what happened in Friday’s session:

Bulls back in charge
The rally on Friday was broad-based with buying across the board. Advancing shares were nearly four times that of those declined on BSE.

Banks return to the forefront
BSE Bankex rose 2.73 per cent, but was still down more than 34 per cent for the year to date. On Friday, among leading private lenders HDFC Bank rose 3.14 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.70 per cent and Axis Bank 2.81 per cent.

Broader market outperforms
Broader markets outperformed benchmark Sensex, with the BSE500 index rising 1.34 per cent. BSE midcap and smallcap indices climbed 1.79 per cent and 2.51 per cent, respectively. Among midcaps, NBCC and Aditya Birla Retail rose 17.06 per cent and 11 per cent. respectively. In the smallcap pack, a host of stocks such as BF Investment, Andhra Paper, AlphaGeo, Taj GVK, and Hexware Technologies jumped 20 per cent each.

Telcos on an upswing
Analysts have been dubbing the telecom sector as possible next market leaders, and telecom stocks continued to show momentum. Vodafone Idea jumped 21.90 per cent after CLSA said it sees further upside for the stock on the likelihood of strong Arpu (average revenue per user) growth , resolution on adjusted gross revenue front and potential floor tariffs going forward . Peer Bharti Airtel rose 2.05 per cent after Jefferies said the stock may rise 50-100 per cent over the next three years on a revenue boom in India’s telecommunications sector.

Reliance Industries scales new high
Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) recouped most of the gains to end flat at Rs 1,580. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,617 in early trade after the firm said Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala bought 1.85 per cent stake Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.60 crore. This is the sixth deal for RIL in as many weeks.

60 stocks log 52-week highs
A total of 60 stocks scaled 52-week highs on the BSE. These included Reliance Industries, Balaji Telefilms, Biocon Birla Tyres, Cipla, Marksans Pharma, Sun Pharma, and Torrent Power among others.

61 stocks fall to 52-week lows
As many as 61 stocks hit 52-week lows. These included Rajesh Exports, Orient Press, 7NR Retail, Genus Prime Infra among others.

Stocks that flash 'buy' signals
Around 82 stocks gave bullish signals as they crossed above the signal line on the MACD indicator. They included Crisil, Indoco Remedies, PI Industries, Ramky Infrastrcuture, TTK Healthcare among others.

Stocks that gave sell signals
Nearly 22 scrips gave ‘sell’ signals on the MACD indicator. They included Redington (India), LKP Finance, and K P Energy among others.