Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 419 points, Nifty at 10,739; Infosys, BPCL, M&M, Cipla top gainers

Sensex, Nifty Updates: Barring weakness from Asian equities, market indices ended majorly bullish on Thursday, tracking rally in IT stocks amid Q1 earnings season. Sensex closed 419 points higher at 36,471 and Nifty ended 121 points higher at 10,739. Markets in Asian grounds traded mostly in red today as investors turned cautious given rising coronavirus cases and percolating tensions between the US and China. Yesterday, Sensex ended 18 points higher at 36,051 and Nifty closed 10 points higher at 10,618. Companies set to announce their earnings are  Balkrishna Industries, Britannia Industries, Granules India and ICICI General Insurance

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

3. 44 PM: Closing

Barring weakness from Asian equities, market indices ended majorly bullish on Thursday, tracking rally in IT stocks amid Q1 earnings season. Sensex closed 419 points higher at 36,471 and Nifty ended 121 points higher at 10,739.

3. 36 PM: Market quote

Commenting on today's rally, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"In Spite of negative global cues, Indian benchmark indices gained strength as the day went on, powered by the IT index and Infosys in particular. Infosys reported better than expected numbers and was backed by good deal wins and decent outlook. Ground realities remained little changed, as the virus infections and geo political tensions created uncertainty on the global economic recovery. Investors need to remain stock specific and the earnings results and commentary should be watched out for."

3. 26 PM: Sector update

Sectorally, all indices were trading in green, barring media and realty. IT sector was trading 3% higher, followed by 1.5% rise in pharma and auto stocks.

3. 19 PM: Market gains further momentum

Barring weakness from Asian equities, market indices gained majorly on Thursday, tracking rally in IT stocks amid Q1 earnings season. Sensex was trading 376 points higher at 36,428 and Nifty gained 106 points higher to 10,725.

2. 57 PM: Rupee ends lower

Indian rupee has ended marginally lower at 75.19, amid buying seen in the domestic equity market.

2.36 PM:  This stock turned Rs 1 lakh into Rs 3 lakh in five years

Astral Poly Technik share has delivered strong returns for its investors in last 5 years. The stock of the firm engaged in production of plastics products has tripled since July 2015 against 27% rise in Sensex during the same period.  An amount of Rs 1,00,000 invested in the share on July 15, 2015 would have grown to Rs 3.05 lakh today. Astral Poly Technik share price has risen from Rs 304 to Rs 927 on July 15, 2020 in five years.

Astral Poly Technik share price has fallen 12% during the last one year and lost 21.87% since the beginning of this year. The mid cap share trades higher than 50 day moving averages but lower than 5 day, 20 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages.

This stock turned Rs 1 lakh into Rs 3 lakh in five years, did you miss the rally?

2.14 PM:Silver outlook

Expressing views on Silver, Anuj Gupta, DVP- Commodities and Currencies Research, Angel Broking said,"Today, MCX silver prices have touched the 7 year high levels of 51999 levels. Generally, Silver prices follow the Gold prices. Recently, the gold prices have touched the life high of 49348 levels, and now, Silver is following the Gold trend and heading towards upside. Currently, the ratio between gold and silver is at 92.90, however, at the starting of the year 2020, it was around 83.72 mark. Here, Gold increased sharply but silver did not increase in this pandemic crisis. This is indicating positive signals for the silver prices also.

Globally, industrial demand also increased and ETF demand also supported the Silver. The holding of the biggest Silver ETF, Blackrock's ishare silver trust, has surged by $2.45 billion to $9.72 billion this year. In India, good monsoon is also one of the reasons for the increase in Silver prices. Demand for Silver jewellery from rural areas has also supported Silver prices. We expect Silver prices may test 54000 to 55000 levels soon."

1. 57 PM: Infosys shares gain 15% to hit all time high

Shares of Infosys soared 15% to an all-time high of Rs 952 on Thursday, a day after Infosys reported Q1 earning numbers which were way ahead of street estimates. Infosys shares were on track for their best day in more than seven years on Thursday, adding over Rs 50,000 crore to investors wealth in the first hour of trade on BSE.

The stock opened with a gap up, rising 8.24% to Rs 900 and further gained 15% to an intraday high of Rs 952 on BSE. On Wednesday, shares of Infosys closed at Rs 831.45 on July 15, up 6.16%, ahead of the Q1 earnings announcement.

Infosys share hits all-time high, investors gain over Rs 50,000 crore

1. 48 PM: Expert outlook on real estate sector

Nayan Raheja of Raheja Developers says, "The last few months have really made everyone realize the importance of having atleast one roof over their head which they can call their own in times of an emergency. We are seeing a large part of people staying on rent wanting to shift to their first house, whether in an affordable/mid segment housing or plotted/floor development. We are also seeing a lot of middle class wanting to shift to larger homes with provision of a home office. Furthermore, as work from home culture is gaining traction, this is likely to boost the demand for houses over the next 6-12 months. The time is also apt for owning a house as the interest rate is at a 15-year low and the GOI is extending subsidies through the CLSS scheme. Combining all these factors, we see demand for properties improving over the next few months."

1. 35 PM: RIL shares tank 2%

The share price of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) were trading almost 2% lower on Thursday's trading session after hitting a record high yesterday. The fall today is in inline with yesterday's last hour of decline as the 43rd AGM of RIL was in progress. As per market analysts, RIL's share price fall happened after it was announced that the much-awaited RIL-Saudi Aramco will get delayed.Analysts said a sell-off in Reliance Industries stock came as investors followed the principle of buy on expectations and sell on announcements.

Reliance shares were trading 1.80% lower at Rs 1812.25, its day's low, after hitting a record high of Rs 1978.50 yesterday. The stock ended 3.71% lower at Rs 1,845 on Wednesday. In today's session, RIL stock opened at Rs 1,850.00 and later touched an intraday high of Rs 1,868.

RIL shares tank another 2%, time to buy, sell or hold the stock?

1.07 PM: Gold outlook

On Gold's near term outlook, Hareesh V, Head Commodity Research  at Geojit Financial Services said," Gold may edge higher on simmering US-China tensions and surging new virus cases across the globe continue to lift its safe haven demand. A weak US dollar also offered lower level support to the yellow metal. Meanwhile, worries over higher level profit booking and optimism over COVID-19 vaccines are likely to limit major gains."

On (London spot) Technical Outlook, he  added," As long as prices stay above $1770 bullish sentiments are likely to continue with resistance is seen at $1830 followed by $1882 levels. The immediate downside reversal point is $1735."

12. 45 PM: Infosys share price gains 12%

Infosys share rose in early trade today after the IT major reported a 11.5 per cent growth in consolidated net profit in first quarter current fiscal. Share price of Infosys gained 12.09% to Rs 932 against previous close of Rs 831.45 on BSE. The stock opened with a gain of 8.24% at Rs 900. It has risen 16.77% in the last 2 days. Infosys stock price is trading higher than 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages.

Infosys share price gains 12% on Q1 earnings, brokerages raise target price

12. 25 PM: Rossari Biotech IPO

The initial public offering (IPO) of Rossari Biotech was subscribed over 79 times on the last day of bidding on Wednesday. The Rs 500-crore IPO received bids for 64,87,33,645 shares against the total issue size of 81,73,530 shares, NSE data show.

The category allocated for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 85.26 times and non-institutional investors 239.83 times. Retail investors sent 7.23 times bids for the portion allocated for them. The price range for the offer was fixed at Rs 423-425 per share

Rossari Biotech IPO: First post Covid share sale a huge hit among investors, subscribed 79 times

12.07 PM: Rupee slips 12 paise

The rupee opened at 75.23 at the interbank forex market, then erased gains to touch 75.27, down 12 paise over its last close of 75.15 per dollar.

Forex traders said positive opening in domestic equity market helped the local unit sustain momentum while factors like strong dollar, foreign fund outflows and rising COVID-19 cases dragged the domestic currency down.

On the contrary, the dollar index, gauging the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.04% to 96.11.

Rupee slips 12 paise to 75.27 amid strong dollar, foreign fund outflows

11. 58 AM: Gold price today

Gold price in India corrected over profit booking on Thursday, although traded near record highs. This was in line with global commodity markets amid rising coronavirus cases and ongoing tensions between US and China.

Gold futures on MCX were trading 52 points higher at 49,211 per 10 gm today against the previous close of 49,159 per 10 gm, after hitting a lifetime high of 49,348 in the previous week. Gold August Futures today touched an intraday high of 49,222 and a low of 49,103 today, after opening at 49,104 per 10 gm.

The yellow metal struggled for momentum and traded bit lower on Thursday in overseas markets, although, steadied above its eight-year high at $1,800 per ounce hit last Tuesday. Spot gold price traded 1.51% lower at $1,809.80 today while Comex Gold was trading 0,.50% lower at 1,810.

Gold price today: Yellow metal sees profit booking amid volatile equity markets

11. 36 AM: Gold outlook

In terms of London Spot gold's technical outlook, there is a mild resistance is seen at $1818 which needs to be cleared for continuation of further upticks for the day, said Geojit Financial in its note and added that the next targets are seen at $1830 followed by $1882. However, a direct drop below $1770 could negate any buying expectations and take prices lower.

For MCX Gold Futures, the brokerage estimated the resistance at Rs 49,300/51,500 and support at Rs 48,540.

11. 20 AM: Metal stocks under pressure

Miners Hindalco and Vedanta were among the session's top laggards on Thursday's early session, after metal prices slid overnight ahead of key Chinese data that could shed light on demand. The Nifty metals index was down 1.6% in early trading

11. 10 AM: It stocks gain momentum

The Nifty IT index was up nearly 4% in early trade, as an upbeat earning by Infosys Ltd lifted IT stocks and capped losses. Infosys Ltd surged over 9% after it reported a better-than-expected first quarter profit on Wednesday evening and reinstated its full-year revenue growth guidance.

10. 52 AM: Market outlook

Commenting on Nifty's near term outlook, Sameet Chavan (Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said," If we look at the hourly chart of Nifty, yesterday's price activity was a replica of what happened in US markets on Monday. But we must not dishearten by this because if our markets are following this pattern, then US markets have regained strength in last couple of days and are poised for a good move. Thus we still remain hopeful as long as Nifty remains above 10550 on a sustainable basis. A move below this would certainly apply immediate brakes on the recent rally to see some correction in the market. Till then 10725-10850 can again be retested."

10. 47 AM: Coronavirus toll

Coronavirus has infected 136.96 lakh people worldwide and killed 5.86 lakh so far. Coronavirus cases touched 968,876 as of Thursday morning in India

10. 23 AM: Bandhan Bank Q1 quote

Commenting on Bandhan Bank's Q1FY21 result, Jaikishan Parmar,  Sr, Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking said,"Bandhan banks Loan portfolio (on book + off book) grew 17.68% YoY, which is weak compared to his growth trajectory. However, considering the current situation 17.68% growth is not bad. The liability front bank did well, as Deposit and CASA grew at 35.3% and 47%, respectively. Other positives are NIM improved marginally, Lower OPEX led to an improvement in Cost to income ratio by 210bps to 27.9% and GNPA at 1.43% vs 1.48%QOQ.  Overall Bank collections improved to 76% by the end of June'20 compared to 29% in April'20. Pre provision profit grew by 16.8% YoY, but accelerated additional provision on standard advances amounting to Rs 750 crores impacted profitability. Here on the stock price movement will largely depend on how quickly collection improves to pre COVID level."

10. 16 AM: Infosys outlook

Commenting on 1QFY21 results of Infosys, Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist, Angel Broking said,"Infosys reported numbers which were way ahead of street estimates. Company reported a 2.4% qoq degrowth in revenues to USD 3,121mn as compared to expectations of 4-5% degrowth. In rupee terms revenue grew by 1.7% qoq to Rs.23,665 crore while gross profits grew by 2.5% qoq to Rs.7,962 crore. Gross margins expanded by 26bps qoq to 33.6% while tight cost control in the form of reduced SG&A expenses led to approx 160bps qoq expansion in operating margins to  22.7% while operating profits grew by 8.9% qoq to Rs.5,365 crore. However net profit for the quarter degrew by 2.0% qoq to Rs.4,233 crore due to lower other income and higher tax rates during the quarter.

While the Q1FY21 numbers were significantly above street expectations on all counts, new deal wins also remained strong at USD 1.74bn for the quarter. The management has guided for 0-2% growth in constant currency terms for FY2021 which is a big positive and would go a long way in reaffirming the markets faith in the company. Post the Q1FY21 numbers we expect upgrades in FY2021 and FY2022 numbers."

10.05 AM: Nifty outlook

Reliance Smart Money in its daily report said, "NSE-NIFTY tested its extended upper band of the rising wedge (then placed around 10,800 mark) and reversed down quite sharply. Though the index ended in profit, but it has formed a bearish continuation pattern on the daily chart. As mentioned earlier, our negative view will remain intact on the index as its major technical indicators remained in the sell mode. This could drag the index towards 10,440 and 10,350 levels. On the higher side, the index will continue to face hurdle around its long-term moving average 200-day SMA (placed at 10,877 mark).

As for the day, support is placed at around 10,560 and then at 10,480 levels, while resistance is observed at 10,800 and then at 10,890 levels."

9. 56 AM: Market gains further

Barring weakness from Asian equities, market indices gained majorly by the opening session on Thursday. Sensex was trading 247 points higher at 36,299 and Nifty gained 52 points higher to 10,670.

9.45 AM: Stocks to watch today on July 16

SBI Cards, Infosys, Yes Bank, L&T Infotech, SBI, GAIL among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Thursday's trading session.

Stocks in news: SBI Cards, Infosys, Yes Bank, L&T Infotech, SBI, GAIL and more

9. 30 AM: Opening session

Sensex and Nifty erased early gains and traded muted  on Thursday, amid mixed Asian equities. Sensex was trading 85 points higher at 36,124 and Nifty was falling 10 points lower to 10,607

9. 13 AM: Pre open session today

Barring weakness from Asian equities, market indices gained majorly by the opening session on Thursday.

9.00 AM: Market outlook

"We're seeing a tussle between the bulls and bears for the last couple of sessions and we feel it would be healthy if the market witnesses some correction after the recent surge. However, the resilience of global markets would help the index to limit the downside. Amid all, stocks may continue to witness volatile swings on both sides thus traders have no option but to position themselves accordingly," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking.

8. 45 AM: Earnings today

Companies set to announce their earnings are  Balkrishna Industries, Britannia Industries, Granules India and ICICI General Insurance

8. 40 AM: Asian markets in red

Markets in Asian grounds traded mostly in red today as investors turned cautious given rising coronavirus cases and percolating tensions between the US and China.

8. 30 AM: Closing session

After rallying 777 points amid positive sentiments across global markets on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, Sensex surrendered gains in the last hour of trade. Yesterday, Sensex ended 18 points higher at 36,051 and Nifty closed 10 points higher at 10,618.