Sensex, Nifty Close At Record For Fourth Day As Tech Stocks Advance

India’s stock benchmarks fluctuated between gains and losses before closing the session at record for the fourth consecutive session. Gains in tech, pharma and FMCG stocks offset the losses in metals, telecom and banking stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.38% to 55,792.27. The 30-stock index hit a record 55,854.88 in intraday trade. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced by similar magnitude to 16,614.60. Nifty 50 had also logged a record 16,628.55 in intraday trade. This is the first time the 50-stock index crossed the 16,600 mark.

The S&P BSE MidCap outperformed its larger peers rising 0.73% while S&P BSE SmallCap almost mirrored larger peers adding 0.33%. Ten out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. declined, with S&P BSE Metals shedding nearly 2.74%. On the flipside, Technology and pharma stocks gained with S&P BSE Information Technology adding over 2% and S&P BSE Healthcare rising 1.3%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bears. About 1,141 stocks advanced, 2,027 declined and 120 remained unchanged.

RateGain Travel Technologies Ltd. shareholders will sell as many as 22.61 million shares in an offer-for-sale as part of the initial public offering, according to a draft prospectus.

• Founders of the Software-as-a-Service provider to hospitality and travel industry and private equity firm TA Associates Ltd.’s affiliate Wagner are among those selling shares in the IPO

• Kotak Mahindra Capital, IIFL Securities and Nomura are the banks on the IPO

Shares of Hindustan Zinc Ltd. shed 5.09%, the most in over four months, to Rs 314.00 apiece. Trading volume was 1.4 million shares, 55% above the 20-day average of 9,02,785 shares for this time of the day.

The company deferred its board meeting which was scheduled for today. Hindustan Zinc had earlier informed the bourses that it would consider interim dividend for financial year 2021-22 in the meeting.

Of the 22 analysts tracking the company, 5 maintained ‘buy’, 9 maintained ‘hold’ and 8 maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 1.6%

Shares of Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd. gained 5% to Rs 193.40 as 12.7 million shares changed hands in a bunch. This is the second consecutive session in which the shares gained 5%.

Poonawalla Fincorp stock gained nearly 370% in 2021. Of the 6 analysts tracking the company, 4 maintained 'buy' and 2 maintained 'sell' reccommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 4.3%

Shares of Steel Strips Wheels Ltd. gained 5% to Rs 1,666.60 apiece after the company informed the exchanges that it will consider sub-division/split of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each in a manner as determined by the board of directors on September 3.

The relative strength index on the stock is at 72, suggesting that it may be overbought. Shares of Steel Strips Wheels gained nearly 230% in 2021 so far compared to 17.3% rise for Sensex.

Delhi High Court gave four weeks to Future Retail Ltd. before it starts enforcing an earlier order for a complete halt on the company’s asset sale deal with Reliance Industries Ltd.

• Court defers hearing Amazon.com Inc.’s petition for four weeks, after Future group’s lawyer said the company’s petition in top court was pending and Singapore arbitration court’s ruling was also awaited.

• On August 12, Future Group filed new plea in the Supreme Court against Amazon.

• Judge said if Future Retail fails to get relief in top court or at the Singapore tribunal in four weeks, he would implement a March verdict of the high court that froze Future Group founder Kishore Biyani’s assets and ordered withdrawal of approvals to the deal by regulators.

• Delhi High Court to hear the case next on September 16.

• Shares of Future Retail fell 4.73% to Rs 45.30 apiece.

Metal stocks declined with S&P BSE Metal shedding over 3%. Vedanta Ltd.'s shares fell nearly 9% while Coal India, JSW Steel, NMDC, Jindal Steel & Power were down over 3%.

India’s stock benchmarks fluctuated between gains and losses after hitting record highs for the fourth consecutive session. Tech and pharma stocks gained while banking and metal stocks dragged.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.16% to 55,492.49. The 30-stock index hit a record 55,688.50 in intraday trade. The NSE Nifty 50 declined by similar magnitude to 16,528.35. Nifty 50 had also logged a record 16,591.40 in intraday trade.

The broader indices almost mirrored their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap shedding 0.1%. Fifteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. declined, with S&P BSE Metals shedding nearly 2.5% and S&P BSE Bankex losing 1%.

On the flipside, Technology and pharma stocks gained with S&P BSE Information Technology adding 1.5% and S&P BSE Healthcare gaining 1%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bears. About 1,024 stocks advanced, 2,016 declined and 126 remained unchanged..

Tech stocks gained in trade with NSE Nifty IT adding nearly 2% to hit record 33,202.90. Tech Mahindra extended its rally and gained over 3% while L&T and Mindtree also advanced in excess of 2%. All the constituents in Nifty IT rose with shares of Tata Consultancy Services hitting a record as the company's market capitalisation surged past Rs 13 lk crore mark.

Shares of Auto parts maker Fiem Industries Ltd. gained 20% to a record high Rs 951.10 apiece after the company announced that it was the sole supplier to Ola Electric for head lamps, tail lamps, indicators , rear fender assembly and mirrors.

In an exchange release post market hours Monday, Fiem Industries said that the supply deal with Ola Electric was a landmark client addition as it saw huge potential in Indian 2-Wheeler Electric Vehicle (EV) segment.

Of the 4 analysts tracking the company, 3 maintained ‘buy’ and 1 maintained ‘hold’ recommendations. The relative strength index on the stock was 71, suggesting that it may be overbought.

India’s key equity indexes are the best performers this month in Asia, thanks to a dovish central bank, inflows and enthusiasm among retail investors.

A gauge of small-sized stocks is now on course for its first monthly decline since January, while a measure of mid-sized firms has also slipped into the red after 14 consecutive months of gains -- a sign that the liquidity-fueled rally might be narrowing to the nation’s top companies.

Shares of Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd. gained 5.56% to Rs 162.30 apiece after the company sought the nod of NCLT, to the scheme of merger.

The issue concerns the merger of NAM Estates Pvt Ltd and Embassy One Commercial Property Developments Pvt Ltd. with Indiabulls Real Estate. Both NAM Estates and Embassy One Commercial are embassy group entities.

Shares of Suven Life Sciences Ltd. rose 11% to Rs 87.95 apiece after the company announced phase 3 clinical trial of SUVN-502 (Masupirdine), used in the treatment of agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s type dementias.

The trials are likely to be completed in 36 months and the topline result is expected by the end of 2024, according to exchange filings by the company.

India’s stock benchmarks opened subdued after hitting record highs in the previous three sessions as traders weighed a record-breaking run in the S&P 500 against concerns that the delta virus variant will choke global growth.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.21% to 55,464.11. The NSE Nifty 50 declined by a similar magnitude to 16,528.05 before paring the losses. Infosys Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.5%. Tech Mahindra Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 3.2%.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap almost unchanged. Eleven out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. declined, with S&P BSE Auto and S&P BSE Bankex slipping over 0.5%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bears. About 1,127 stocks advanced, 1,162 declined and 75 remained unchanged.

“Market is consolidating after a run of gains and is also closely watching global cues, including the political situation in Afghanistan and the virus spread,” said Kranthi Bathini, a strategist at Mumbai-based consultancy WealthMills Securities Pvt. “But given ample liquidity, it remains poised to climb higher.”

Rupee bond traders await the sale of Rs 8,500 crore of state INR Equity government debt, while the currency could get a boost from lower crude oil.

• USD/INR little changed at 74.2475 on Friday.

• 10-year yields rose 2bps to 6.24% on Friday.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is sticking to its FY22 borrowing goal and sees inflation remaining within the central bank’s 2%-6% target band.

• India bond and currency markets were closed for a holiday on Monday

• Global funds sell net Rs 1,088 crore of India Stocks Monday: NSE

• Global funds buy net Rs 820 crore of India Stocks Friday: NSE

Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as traders weighed a record-breaking run in the S&P 500 against concerns that the Delta virus variant will choke global growth. The dollar rose and treasuries held gains.

Shares fluctuated in Japan and Hong Kong and posted modest increases in China, while U.S. equity futures edged down. The S&P 500 closed at another all-time high overnight — doubling from its pandemic low in March 2020 — with healthcare and utility companies advancing. Apple Inc. hit a record, but Tesla Inc. sank on an investigation into the electric-vehicle firm’s Autopilot system.

Mobility curbs to fight the delta strain, signs of a slowing recovery from the pandemic in China and Beijing’s regulatory crackdown continue to color the market mood in Asia. Australia’s dollar weakened after the central bank signaled it’s prepared to act if lockdowns lead to a greater economic setback.

Treasury yields held a decline. Traders are awaiting an address by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday and the Jackson Hole symposium in late August for clues on when and how the Fed might taper stimulus.

India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for August delivery fell 0.1% to 16,544.50, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index was down 0.4%. The Nifty 50 gained 0.2% on Monday to 16,563.05.

While the S&P 500 is on track for one of the calmest months ever, a measure of implied volatility in VIX options has advanced for five out of seven weeks — even as the Cboe Volatility Index kept falling —suggesting disquiet among investors for what lies ahead. Risks include slower growth due to the delta strain, the impact of elevated inflation and the prospect of reduced central bank support.

Elsewhere, oil pared a drop and gold maintained a recent advance. Bitcoin swung back above $46,000.

Back home, Delhi High Court will hear Amazon-Future petition and Supreme Court will hear bank disclosures case. AU Small, DMart, Eicher Motors, Whirlpool are holding their annual shareholders’ meeting.

Stocks to watch

• 3i Infotech: CFO Mrinal Ghosh resigns.

• Adani Enterprises, Sadbhav Infrastructure: Adani Road to buy 49% stake in Maharashtra Border Check Post.

• Hindustan Zinc: Holds board-meeting for interim dividend.

• Infosys: Says bought back shares worth Rs 3.77 crore on Aug. 16.

• Lupin: Gets tentative U.S. FDA approval for Brivaracetam tablets.

• Mahindra, Steel Authority of India, Bayer CropScience: India government gives drone use permission to 10 organisations.

• Suven Life: To conduct phase 3 trial for Alzheimer’s treatment.