Share Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty end flat after hitting record highs; Infosys, HDFC, SBI top gainers

Sensex, Nifty LIVE Updates on February 12: After trading near record highs in early session, market indices turned volatile and closed flat on Friday, amid mixed cues from global equities. Paring gains from early trade, Sensex ended 12 points higher to 51,544 and Nifty fell by 10 points to 15,163. Earlier today, Sensex hit a record high of 51,804 and Nifty hit a lifetime high of 15,243. Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, TCS were among the top gainers today while Titan, L&T, Tata Motors, Coal India, Eicher Motors were among the top losers. Investors will also await key data outcome such as IIP & CPI data, that are scheduled to be released later today. Meanwhile, quarterly earnings announcements by Grasim Industries, Bharat Forge, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Advanced Enzyme Technologies, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Bharat Dynamics, Cochin Shipyard, Dilip Buildcon, Delta Corp, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Force Motors will also set the tone for the stock market today. Yesterday, the 30-share barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, ended 222 points higher at 15,531. The NSE Nifty 50 barometer closed 66 points higher at 15,173.

Here's a look at the LIVE updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today

3. 49 PM: Closing session on Friday

After trading near record highs in early session, market indices turned volatile and closed flat on Friday, amid mixed cues from global equities. Paring gains from early trade, Sensex ended 12 points higher to 51,544 and Nifty fell by 10 points to 15,163.

3.35 PM: Market Closing outlook

On markets closing --Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said,"The markets continued their lacklustre move throughout the day. This was characterised by less than average volumes on the Nifty futures contract as well. The target of 15500 is still open and traders can accumulate positions for this target with a strict stop below the 14500 mark which is good support for the index. Since the risk reward ratio is skewed, a buy on intraday corrections would be a prudent way to enter long positions."

3. 30 PM: Nifty Tech View

Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Adviser said,"The market's short-term technical conditions favoring a sideways correction is in the process. While it is subject to further price action evolution, we retain our cautious stance and advise the traders to refrain from building a new buying position until we see further improvement and breakout above 15250 (Nifty 50 Index). The momentum indicators like RSI, MACD continue showing divergence, the market is likely to take a pause around this level and stay in a range. We expect the 15230-15250 level to act as short-term resistance."

3. 15 PM:Mahanagar Gas Q3FY21 outlook

Centrum Broking in its note said,"Our cautiousness around MGL stock have been driven by muted volume growth prospects beyond FY24e, but we revise our rating to BUY to prioritise the next 18-24Mth prospects for the company and very attractive valuations of just 11.5x FY23e EPS/ 7.5x EV/EBITDA (45/40% discount to IGL/GGL). Upgrades in our FY21/22e EPS estimates (25/15%) and introduction of FY23e EPS estimates of Rs97/sh imply a solid 27% EPS CAGR over FY21-23e driven by continued softness in domestic gas costs, moderate Spot LNG prices, gradual return of gas volumes to full normalcy and some delta from Raigad. Keeping in mind the stronger near term prospects, we have a revised TP of Rs1305/sh, 16% upside. We assume WACC of 10.7%, terminal growth rate of 3.5% and Capex of Rs4/5/5bn over FY21/22/23e. Upgrade to BUY."

3.09 PM: Market outlook

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said,"Risk appetite trickled down and equities pared gains with several cities across globe entering fresh lockdowns. Oil's winning streak was also broken following IEA's bleaker demand outlook. Indian equities were in the green in the first half with Bank Nifty rising over 1%, but VIX rose in the second half, and traders opted cut down long bets across sectors, going into the weekend."

2. 54 PM: Outlook on Nureca Ltd IPO

Yash Gupta - Equity Research Associate, Angel Broking Ltd. said,"Nureca limited is a B2C company engaged in the business of home healthcare and wellness products. The company enables their customers with tools to help them monitor chronic ailments and other diseases, to improve their lifestyle.

Nureca is a digital first company wherein they sell their products through online channel partners such as e-commerce players, distributors and retailers. Further, they also sell their products through their own website drtrust.in. Nureca classifies their products portfolio under the 5 categories such as Chronic Device Products, Orthopedic Products, Mother and Child Products, Nutrition Supplements and Lifestyle Products.

IPO to open on 15th feb 2021 with a price band of Rs 396-400 and bid quantity of 35 shares. We have a positive outlook for the IPO."

2. 41 PM: Transport Corporation of India outlook

Geojit Financial Services said in its note today," Revenue grew by 11% YoY, led by pick-up in movement of goods on account of festive and pent-up demand. EBITDA margins expanded by 90bps YoY to 10.5% on account of improved scale and lower cost. Consequently, PAT was up by 25% YoY . Revenue growth was supported strong rebound in supply chain business, normalization of freight operations and improvement in movement of goods. Going ahead, continued focus on E-commerce space, revival in volumes in seaway business, faster adoption of e-way bill and strong rebound in Auto sector will drive growth.

The brokerage added," We remain positive on TCI given its strong presence in warehousing space, multimodal logistics services and supply chain management. Given strong earnings outlook, 21% CAGR we value TCI at P/E of 13x on FY23E and maintain Buy rating, with a target price of Rs.317."

2. 34 PM: ACC share rises 2% post strong Q4 earnings

ACC Ltd share rose over 2% in trade today after the firm reported a 72.88 per cent rise in net profit for Q4.

ACC share touched an intraday high of Rs 1,812.35, rising 2.03% against previous close of Rs 1,776 on BSE. ACC share is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages.

The share has gained 21.83% in one year and risen 9.11% since the beginning of this year. Market cap of the firm fell to Rs 33,133 crore.

ACC share rises 2% post strong Q4 earnings

2. 25PM: YES Bank share trades marginally lower in afternoon session

YES Bank share was trading marginally lower in Friday's session on BSE and NSE. The stock of the private lender opened at its previous close of Rs 16.50 and touched the day's high of Rs 16.6. Later, the stock erased gains and traded 0.9% lower at an intraday low of Rs 16.35.

YES Bank stock trades higher than 100-day moving averages but lower than 5, 20, 50 and 200-day moving averages.

The share has fallen 2.66% in one week, 8.8% in a month. Year-to-date, the stock is down 7.8%

YES Bank share trades marginally lower in afternoon session

2.15 PM: ITC share slips over 4%

ITC share fell over 4% in trade today after the firm reported a 11.6 per cent year-on-year fall in net profit in Q3. Share of ITC slipped up to 4.17% to  Rs 217 compared to the previous close of Rs 226.45 on BSE.

ITC stock has lost 6.15% in the last 5 days. The share trades higher than 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages but lower than 5 day moving averages.

ITC share has risen 2.21% in one year and gained 4.16% since the beginning of this year. In a month, the stock has climbed 5.47%. Market cap of the FMCG firm fell to Rs 2.68 lakh crore.

ITC share slips over 4% after Q3 net profit falls 11%

2.05 PM: Nifty tech view

Sameet Chavan (Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said,"The weekly expiry session turned out to be a day of consolidation as the Nifty traded with a narrow range and ended the day with gains of less than half a percent. Unlike last week, it has been a week of consolidation so far for the indices as Nifty as well as Bank Nifty have traded with a narrow range. There are no signs of reversal of the trend and hence, this just seem to be a time-wise correction which was much required post the sharp run up in the budget week. As of now, there are no signs of any deeper retracements and hence, once this consolidation is over we expect the markets to resume its uptrend. The immediate supports for Nifty are placed around 15100 followed by 14975 whereas resistance is seen around the swing high of 15250 above which Nifty should resume momentum.

1. 50 PM: Market update

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 4.01% to 22.12. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.50%. The market breadth was positive on the BSE, with 1513 shares rising, 1247 shares falling and a total of 166 unchanged shares. Traders said market indices has gained over 8% since January month on back of an optimistic union budget, better than expected corporate earnings, continued foreign fund flows and positive progress on the COVID-19 vaccinations.

1. 42 PM: Outlook on Strides receiving approval from USFDA

Yash Gupta - Equity Research Associate, Angel Broking said,"Strides Pharma Science Limited (Strides) announced that its step-down wholly owned subsidiary, Strides Pharma Global Pte. Limited, Singapore, has received approval for Prednisone Tablets USP, 10 mg and 20 mg from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA). The product is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the Reference Listed Drug (RLD), Deltasone Tablets, 10 mg and 20 mg, of Pharmacia and Upjohn Co. (Pharmacia). According to IQVIA MAT December 2020 data, the US market for Prednisone Tablets USP, 10 mg and 20 mg is approximately US 60 Mn. The product will be manufactured at the company's facility at Bengaluru and will be marketed by Strides Pharma Inc. in the US market. This will be a small product for strides and will not create a major impact on its financials and valuations."

1. 25 PM: Brookfield IPO post allotment

Yash Gupta - Equity Research Associate, Angel Broking said,"Today investors have received allotment of units of the Brookfield IPO, Brookfield REIT received very good response from Institutional as well as retail investors. We expect listing gains to be in the range of 5%-15%. Long term investors who want to add REIT in their portfolio can hold for the long term. Brookfield REIT owns an initial portfolio of 4 large campus format office parks which are located in Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida and Kolkata with an initial portfolio size of 14.0 Msf, comprising 10.3 Msf of completed area, 0.1 under development and 3.7 Msf of future development."

1. 15 PM: India's Oil and Gas sector outlook

JM Financial in its note said," The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its Feb'21 Oil Market Report (click here), has maintained global oil demand growth estimate for CY21 though renewed lockdowns has led to decline in oil demand in 1QCY21 (expected to fall by 1mmbpd vs. 4QCY20 levels). However, IEA expects the current weakness to be offset by strong demand growth in 2HCY21 due to widespread vaccination efforts and acceleration in the economic activity. Hence, IEA maintains global oil demand growth at 5.4mmbpd in CY21 following an 8.7mmbpd decline in CY20. Consequently, recovery to CY19 levels is expected only in CY22. OECD oil stocks in Dec'20 fell by 45mmbbl MoM, but still ~140mmbbl above 5 year average, and are expected to return to pre-Covid levels by end CY21. However, crude price continues to be supported due to Saudi Arabia's surprise announcement of voluntary output cut of 1mmbpd in Feb-Mar'21, strong OPEC+ compliance to output cuts (103% in Jan'21) and expectation of a strong demand recovery in 2HCY21."

1. 01PM: Market rises further, trades near record highs

Share market indices turned bullish and  traded near record highs on Friday, amid mixed cues from global equities. Gaining for second session straight, Sensex rose 200 points higher to 51,732 and Nifty gained by 50 points to 15,223. Today, Sensex hit a record high of 51,804 and Nifty hit a lifetime high of 15,243.

12. 56 PM: InterGlobe Aviation, SpiceJet shares climb up to 7%

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet rose over 4% in early trade today after Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed airlines to charge 10-30 per cent more for domestic flights.

InterGlobe Aviation stock opened with a gain of 4.73% at Rs 1,704 against previous close of Rs 1,627.10 on BSE. At 10:41 am, the stock was trading 1.60% higher at Rs 1,653 on BSE. The share has gained 14.81% in one year and fallen 3.93% since the beginning of this year. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 63,718 crore on BSE.

InterGlobe Aviation, SpiceJet shares climb up to 7% after DGCA raises cap on airfare

12. 45 PM: ITC Ltd shares decline over 4% post results

ITC Ltd shares traded 4.17% lower to hit an intraday low of Rs 217 on BSE, after the company recorded 11.6 per cent YoY decline in net profit at Rs 3,663 crore for October-December quarter. Total income rose 4.3 per cent to Rs 13,551 crore, while total expenses increased 11.2 per cent to Rs 8,704 crore.

12. 34PM: Gold and silver outlook

Kshitij Purohit, Lead Commodity & Currency at CapitalVia Global Research Limited said,"LBMA Gold Spot trading below $1840 levels, it took the minor resistance near the 1858The passage of a new stimulus bill in Congress could provide some support, Downside strong support is $1820 - $1790 levels, Resistance is at $1840 - $1860 levels. MCX Gold February closed with negative momentum below 48000, The market is trading in a tight range with gains and losses likely being limited by light volume due to Lunar holidays in Japan and China. Downside support for the metal is 46200 - 45800. Resistance for the metal is 48400. Strategy for Gold 05Apr Sell Near 47700 Stop loss 48050 Target 47200

He added," MCX Silver is trading below 69000 and closed below 9 days SMA placed near 69200, Downside support shift for the metal is 68400 - 67500. Resistance for the metal is 70500 - 71200. The U.S. Dollar Index is currently testing the nearest support level at 90.30. A move below 90.30 will push the U.S. Dollar Index towards the support at the 90 level which will be bullish for silver.

12. 10 PM: Computer Age Management Services quarterly updates

Revenues from operations for the third quarter ended December 31st, 2020 (Q3FY21) stood at Rs. 185.95 crores as compared to Rs. 176.03 crores in Q3FY20 (Rs. 171.14 crores in Q2FY21). Likewise, the Total Income stood at Rs.192.34 crores in Q3FY21 as against Rs. 182.76 crores in Q3FY20 (Rs. 176.21 crores in Q2FY21).  

11. 58  AM: Nifty Outlook

Geojit Financial siad in its note today,"Patterns do point to 15350-15500 as potential near term objectives, but the momentum looks to have stalled. Towards this end, we are inclined to a mark 14977-15260 as a near term range beyond which directional trades could be played, but will pursue the bullish prospects, while above 15145."

11. 39 AM: Global markets today

Asian markets continued to give out less cues as major markets are closed for holidays. Australian and Japanese markets are trying to remain in green with thin volumes.

US markets had a rocky day with S&P500 and NASDAQ giving up early gains by midday but bouncing back towards the end to close on a flat to positive note backed by IT stocks.

European markets closed higher as traders analysed corporate earnings from Astrazeneca, L'Oreal etc. amid no major cues emerging out of Asia due to Lunar New Year. IT stocks gained.

Oil price saw profit booking but decline was capped on hopes that production cuts and vaccine rollouts might drive demand recovery

11. 22AM: RailTel Corporation trades at 16% grey market premium

The public offer Mini-Ratna category company, RailTel Corporation of India opens for subscription on February 16 and closes on February 18 at an issue price band of Rs 93-94 per share.

The issue by one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India, traded at a premium of Rs 10-15 in the grey market, at a premium of 11-16% over the higher price band of Rs 94. Earlier on February 9, the price had traded at a premium of Rs 5-10.

The Rs 819.24 crore issue, is a complete offer for sale of 8,71,53,369 equity shares by the Government of India. The minimum market lot size for the IPO is 155 shares, where an individual investor can apply for up to 13 lots (2015 shares or Rs 189,410).

RailTel share's grey market premium rises to 42% ahead of IPO

11. 10 AM: Automobile sector - Monthly Quick View

Reliance Research said in its note," As per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic auto sales volume (excluding CVs) grew by 5% YoY and 24% MoM to 17,32,817 units in Jan'21. Though retail sales volume is expected to have been lower due to post festival effect, inventory restocking resulted in higher wholesale volume. Overall inventory level remains close to normal level or marginally lower, for most segments in Jan'21. Festival season witnessed decent traction with decent off-take and booking for new models (particularly for PVs).

We believe that monthly industry volume was supported by retail traction as well as inventory restocking, while positive sentiment, decent rural sales continue to drive decent retail sales despite the ongoing pandemic. While the rural markets have already witnessed healthy volume up-tick, the urban markets have also started witnessing improvement now. Expecting healthy volume traction to continue in FY22E, we continue to remain positive on automobile sector. We expect strong bounce back for M&HCV going forward."

11. 00 PM: Morning view on the market

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said," The impressive Q3 results have been supporting the markets in February. A distinct pattern has been the stocks of companies that declared good results selling off after the news. This can be because of bull unloading after the news. Retail investors have an inclination to buy stocks looking at the results. Normally this does not prove successful. More often, than not good news is likely to be in the price. The reverse also is true. Stocks bounce back after bad results. So investors have to be careful reacting to results. Since valuations have run up quite a bit, activity is likely to shift to mid-small-caps where there are still opportunities left."

10. 50 AM: Global markets today

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading on a mixed note on Thursday as multiple major markets in the region were closed for holidays. Markets in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for holidays.

In US, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 eked out modest gains on Thursday with investors betting on more fiscal stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat.

10. 31AM: Currency Outlook

Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency & Commodities at CapitalVia Global Research Limited said," The rupee opened on flat at 72.76 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday morning, Possibility of RBI intervention from this level to offset impact of foreign inflows in local equity. FII bought 944.36 CR into domestic equity market strengthened domestic currency, Investor will take try to fresh ques from today's CPI and IIP data. All other major Asian markets are closed, the dollar index changed a bit, and trading at 90.50 in the morning session. The U.S. Dollar Index is currently testing the nearest support level at 90.30 and several times it proved its strength. Only below 90.30 will push the U.S. Dollar Index towards the support at the 90 level. Technically, USDINR Feb Future closed at 72.95. it is expected to trade with bearish momentum for the day, Market is trading in a very narrow range above the crucial support and below the strong resistance, Breakout of either side will push currency very sharply."

10. 20 AM: Nureca Ltd. - IPO

Reliance Research said in ite note,"NURECA operates in a highly fragmented market. Given the huge opportunity in HH segment, growth momentum is expected to sustain in subsequent years. Notably, HH Market in India and neighbouring countries, which was pegged at Rs208bn in 2019, is expected to grow to Rs389bn by 2025 (at a CAGR ~11%). Further, IPO is valued at 5.6x annualized earnings report in 1HFY21, which looks to be attractively valued given high asset turnover and return ratio of the company. As there is no listed peer available, benchmark valuation is difficult to ascertain. However, thin history, frequent policy changes by the government and substantial improvement in earnings before fund raising could raise some apprehensions. However, considering attractive valuations and sizeable opportunity, we recommend SUBSCRIBE to this issue.

10. 12AM: FII action

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 944.36 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 707.68 crore in the Indian equity market on 11 February, provisional data showed.

10.00 AM: Market opening session outlook

On markets opening --Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said,"The markets have opened on a tepid note this morning, unclear in its direction for the day. Sometimes traders do not wish to carry a lot of open positions over the weekend. However the trend of the Nifty is positive and all dips can continue to be utilised as buying opportunities. The index still has steam to conquer levels closer to 15500. 14500-14600 is a good support band for the Nifty and as long as that holds, we are in comfortable territory."

9. 49 AM: Nifty technical outlook

Reliance Research in its note today said,"NSE-NIFTY ended on positive note post back to back flat close. Overall market breadth was positive, while major sectors remained mix. Due to recent rebound, major technical indicators on the near-term timeframe turned neutral from negative. As per the current set-up, we continue to believe that near-term decline or consolidation cannot be ruled out before the index resumes its northward journey. A stable move above 15,250-level will strengthen the index for its next leg of up-move, which could take the index towards 16,000-level. In case of decline, the index will find support at around 14,850-level initially and 14,700-level subsequently. 

As for the day, support is placed at around 15,096 and then at 15,019 levels, while resistance is observed at 15,219 and then at 15,266 levels."

9. 33 AM: Stocks to watch today on February 12

Sun Pharma, APL Apollo Tube, RITES, Oil India, Power Grid, ACC among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Friday's trading session

Stocks in news: Sun Pharma, APL Apollo Tube, RITES, Oil India, Power Grid, ACC

9. 24 AM: Top gainers and losers

Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, TCS were among the top gainers today while Titan, L&T, Tata Motors, Coal India, Eicher Motors were among the top losers

9. 14 AM: Opening session

Share market indices opened on a bullish note on Friday, amid positive global equities. Sensex rose 85 points higher to 51,615 and Nifty gained by 12 points to 15,186.

9.07 AM: Earnings today

Grasim Industries, Bharat Forge, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Advanced Enzyme Technologies, Anant Raj, Apollo Micro Systems, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Bharat Dynamics, Cochin Shipyard, Dilip Buildcon, Delta Corp, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Force Motors, GE T&D India, GIC Housing Finance, GMR Infrastructure, Godrej Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Inox Wind, ITI, Lux Industries, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mishra Dhatu Nigam, MOIL, Motherson Sumi Systems, Nagarjuna Fertilizers, NALCO, The New India Assurance Company, PC Jeweller, PTC India, Siemens, Sobha, Sterling and Wilson Solar, Voltas and Zuari Agro Chemicals will announce their quarterly earnings.

9.00 AM: Rupee outlook

In the foreign exchange market, India rupee appreciated to 72.77 compared with its previous closing of 72.84.

Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services said,"USDINR Spot hit a low of 72.70 which is the crucial support zone and if it consistently trades below 72.70 then further downside is expected towards 72.50. However, if the pair respected 72.70 mark then we may see a bounce towards 73.0-73.15."

8. 55 AM: Nifty technical view

Sumeet Bagadia-Executive Director-Choice Broking said yesterday,"It was a dull weekly expiry trading session as no clear movement was there from the benchmark index and from any large counters except Reliance which single handedly led the Nifty towards upper level and finally the index settled at 15173 levels with the gain of 66 points. Since the last four days, Nifty has been trading in a range bound movement between the range of 15000 to 15260, so either side breakout will decide its direction till then we should use range for trading perspective. Moreover, on a daily chart, the benchmark index has strong support of its 50 Days Moving Average which shows a positive trend for the time being. At present level, Nifty has strong support at 15000 while upside resistance comes at 15260."

8. 50 AM:Closing on Thursday

Reversing from two days of straight losses, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed at new highs on Thursday as banking, auto and financial shares witnessed profit-booking. Tracking mixed cues from European and Asian market index majors, the 30-share barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, ended 222 points higher at 15,531. The NSE Nifty 50 barometer closed 66 points higher at 15,173.

Top gainers today: List of 8 shares that rose over 5%

8. 45 AM: Nifty outlook

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said," We reiterate our bullish view on markets however traders should maintain extra caution in the selection of stocks now. Participants would be actively tracking key macroeconomic data like IIP, CPI and WPI data for cues on Friday. A decisive break above 15,250 would trigger further up move else consolidation will continue.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"The domestic market closed with slight gains after its range-bound rally, tracking gains in index heavyweights and positive European & Asian markets. The upward movement in the market was supported by energy, telecom and FMCG stocks with small caps outperforming. Dip in January auto retail sales numbers pushed the sectoral index into the negative territory while PSU banks also remained under pressure." 

Sensex, Nifty close at record highs; RIL, Bajaj twins, Airtel, Hindalco top gainers