Sensex, Nifty snap 3-day losing streak; RVNL rallies 20%, ZEEL tanks 5%

Domestic equity market snapped their three-day losing streak on Friday and settled significantly higher. Positive global cues supported the buying sentiments on Dalal Street as traders awaited the Q3 earnings by Reliance Industries due later today. Rate cut cues and earnings are the key major triggers guiding the sentiments at Dalal Street.

For the day, BSE's Sensex jumped 496.37 points, or 0.70 per cent, to settle at 71,683.23. NSE's Nifty50 surged 160.15 points, or 0.75 per cent, to end the day at 21,622.40. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as the BSE midcap index rose 1.7 per cent, the BSE smallcap indices gained more than a per cent. Fear gauge India VIX shed over 1.35 per cent to 13.88-mark.
 
Markets witnessed some respite after three day decline. Firm global cues triggered a gap-up start in Nifty, followed by range bound movement till the end. A mixed trend on the sectoral front kept traders occupied wherein FMCG, metal and  energy edged higher while banking continued to reel under pressure, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"Nifty has reclaimed its short term moving average but lacks decisiveness. We reiterate our cautious view citing the prevailing underperformance of the banking and eyeing the 21,700-21,850 zone to act as a hurdle. Traders should continue stock-specific approaches and prefer hedged trades," he said.

On the sectoral front, Nifty media index shed about a per cent, while the Nifty private bank index was the only other laggard. Among the gainers, the Nifty oil & gas index rose 1.65 per cent, while the Nifty metal index gained 1.35 per cent. The Nifty auto, FMCG and PSU bank indices added a per cent each.

In the Nifty50 pack, ONGC gained about 3.5 per cent, while Bharti Airtel and NPTC gained more than 3 per cent each. Tech Mahindra, SBI Life Insurance and Britannia Industries rose 2.5 per cent each. On the downside, IndusInd Bank crashed 3.25 per cent after Q3 results. Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank also fell about a per cent each.

A 'buy on dips' and encouraging global cues propelled the market's recovery. Today’s rebound was broad based; however, investors are disappointed and expect moderation in the rally, said  Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"As FIIs persist with risk-off sparked by the likelihood that interest rates may not moderate and domestic earnings growth can slow down as per the initial Q3 results announced. Sector rotation is likely to propel going ahead," he said.

A total of 3,912 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,473 settled with gains. 1,332 stocks ended the session with cuts while 107 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 435 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 237 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) surged about 20 per cent, while HP Adhesives gained about 18 per cent. Ganesh Housing Corporation rose 17 per cent, while General Insurance Corporation of India and HUDCO rose 16 per cent each for the day. Salasar Techno Engineering rose 13 per cent by the end of session.

Among the laggards, Mukand and Zee Entertainment Enterprises dropped mor than 5 per cent. Prataap Snacks hit lower circuit of 5 per cent, while Accelya Solutions India, Dish TV India and Zee Media Corporation dropped up to 5 per cent each for the day.

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