Moneycontrol PRO
Check Credit Score
Check Credit Score
HomeNewsBusinessMarkets

Taking Stock: Last hour profit-booking pushes Sensex below 35K; Nifty closes above 10,300

Despite muted global cues and fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections, markets focussed on regulatory approvals for domestic pharma firms for COVID-19 drugs, experts say.

August 05, 2020 / 08:48 AM IST

It was a good start to the week on D-St. The bulls pushed Indian markets higher on June 22 amid muted global cues but selling in the last hour of the trade suggests that rallies towards 35,000 on the Sensex and 10500 on the Nifty will be met with resistance.

The S&P BSE Sensex cooled off the high of 35,213 but did end the day 179 points higher at 34,911. The Nifty, which tested 10,400, failed to hold on to the gains but rallied 66 points to close at 10,311.

Despite muted global cues and rising fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections, Indian markets focused on regulatory approvals for domestic pharma companies to manufacture COVID-19 drug, experts say.

"In spite renewed global concerns over a second wave of coronavirus infections, Indian markets ended positive. Markets chose to focus on regulatory approvals to domestic pharma companies to manufacture COVID-19 treatment drugs and the expectation that this would lead to faster recoveries," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said.

"As such, the pharma index was the major sectoral gainer in today’s trade. Concerns remain with regard to the increasing infections and the ongoing situation with China, and investors are advised to keep a short term outlook for the time being.”

Sectorally, the action was seen in power, metals, public sector, healthcare, banks, and telecom stocks while profit-taking was visible in IT stocks. The NiftyBank closed 1.7 percent higher at 21,798, supported by gains in IDFC First Bank, RBL Bank, Bandhan Bank and Federal Bank.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Midcap index rose 2 percent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 1.3 percent.

IndexPricesChangeChange%
Sensex73,651.35655.04 +0.90%
Nifty 5022,326.90203.25 +0.92%
Nifty Bank47,124.60338.65 +0.72%
Nifty 50 22,326.90 203.25 (0.92%)
Thu, Mar 28, 2024
Biggest GainerPricesChangeChange%
Bajaj Finserv1,643.8561.20 +3.87%
Biggest LoserPricesChangeChange%
Shriram Finance2,359.80-26.55 -1.11%
Best SectorPricesChangeChange%
Nifty PSU Bank7007.25178.70 +2.62%
Worst SectorPricesChangeChange%
Nifty IT34898.15153.85 +0.44%

Top Nifty gainers included Coal India, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto.

Top Nifty losers included HDFC, ONGC, GAIL India and Wipro.

Stocks & Sectors

Sectorally, the S&P BSE Power index rose 2.7 percent, S&P BSE Metal index 2.6 percent and the S&P BSE Public Sector gained 2.6 percent. The S&P BSE IT index fell 0.3 percent.

A volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in stocks like Lupin, PNB, MRF, Cipla, JustDial, Glenmark Pharma and Idea Cellular.

Long Buildup was seen in stocks like Idea Cellular, Glenmark Pharma, Century Textiles, and Bajaj Auto.

Short Buildup was seen in stocks like LIC Housing Finance, Marico, and ONGC.

More than 140 stocks on the BSE hit a 52-week high. These included Bayer Cropscience, Dixon Tech, RIL, Ruchi Soya, Aarti Drugs, Alembic Pharma, and Cipla.

Stocks in news

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals stock price surged over 28 percent after the pharma company said it received regulatory approval to make and sell oral antiviral drug favipiravir for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections in the country.

Indiabulls Housing Finance share price zoomed almost 20 percent after global investment bank Morgan Stanley picked up a stake in the company.

Cipla shares rose over 3 percent after the country's drug regulator on June 20 gave permission to the company and Hetero to manufacture and market antiviral drug remdesivir.

Punjab National Bank stock price jumped almost 4 percent after the lender's asset quality improved as the Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) were at 14.21 percent for the quarter ended March 2020 versus 15.50 percent, YoY.

IT stocks including Infosys, Mindtree, TCS and Wipro ended in the red following reports that the US may ban non-immigrant visas such as H-1B.

Technical View

The Nifty formed a Doji pattern on daily charts. It registered an intraday breakout above previous swing high of 10328 levels but failed to sustain above it.

Experts say a close below the 10,275 zone may see some more profit- booking.

The immediate support for the index is coming near 10,250-10,160 zone and resistance near 10,400-10,500.

The Nifty Bank ended the day at 21,708, with gains of nearly 2 percent but it failed to hold above its strong hurdle zone of 22k and saw some profit booking.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Kshitij Anand
Kshitij Anand is the Editor Markets at Moneycontrol.
first published: Jun 22, 2020 04:43 pm

Discover the latest business news, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347