Market at Close | Sensex, Nifty end flat with financials being major drag

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Thursday (May 2) with financials being a major drag. ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged as the primary culprits behind Nifty’s lacklustre performance.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 128.33 points or 0.17% to settle at 74,611.11 in a restricted trade. During the day, the index rose by 329.65 points or 0.44% to a high of 74,812.43. The NSE Nifty rose by 43.35 points or 0.19% to 22,648.20 as 29 of its constituents advanced and 21 declined.

The Nifty Bank, in particular, bore the brunt of this downturn, shedding 166 points to settle at 49,231. The Midcap Index scaled new heights and nearing a record high. The index soared by 247 points to reach 51,115.

From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and JSW Steel were among the major gainers.

HPCL, BPCL, and IOC saw their stocks surge by up to 7%, buoyed by the news of crude oil prices dipping below the $85 per barrel mark. REC and PFC saw positive trends with REC extending gains from the previous session, buoyed by favourable Q4 earnings reception, while PFC also rose. Dabur India closed at its peak for the day, driven by strong volume growth in Q4, surpassing market estimates.

Godrej Properties and Godrej Industries experienced slight declines, possibly due to market corrections, while Godrej Consumer Products ended positively following a family settlement. In the automotive sector, companies like Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, M&M, and Hero MotoCorp witnessed an uptick in their stock prices, fueled by encouraging monthly sales figures.

While some companies, like Federal Bank, Chola Finance, and IndiaMART, celebrated robust Q4 results with gains ranging from 4% to 10%, others, such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, grappled with setbacks, including the resignation of a key executive. Overall, market breadth favoured advances, with the advance-decline ratio standing at a balanced 1:1.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong settled with gains while Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended lower. European markets were trading on a mixed note. Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.02% to $84.29 a barrel.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow