Bull run for RIL on Jio-Facebook deal; Sensex rallies more than 700 points

RIL buoys market; Sensex, Nifty end up over 2%

Key domestic indices rallied and ended higher, driven by heavyweight Reliance Industries that hit 10% upper circuit due to its subsidiary Jio Platform's deal with global social media Facebook. The latter has bought 9.9% stake for ₹43,574 crore in Jio Platforms, becoming the largest minority stakeholder in the Mukesh-Ambani led digital firm.

While Sensex rose 742.84 points, or 2.4%, to 31,379.55, Nifty 50 jumped 205.85 points, or 2.3%, to 9,187.30.

The market had opened volatile today, but soon turned to green and extended gains later in the day. Zee Entertainment surged in the last hour of today's session, rising 20%. IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints and UPL were among the lead gainers.

BSE SmallCap constituents mixed

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BSE MidCap: Amara Raja gains nearly 10%

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Sensex, Nifty near day's high

Key domestic indices are on the rise, nearing the day's highest levels. While Sensex rose 2.4% to 31,370.34, Nifty 50 gained 2.3% to trade at 9,185.90.

Nifty top gainers, losers

Zee Entertainment, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti Suzuki were the best performers on the Nifty 50 index, while ONGC, Vedanta, Larsen & Toubro, Cipla and Indian Oil Corp led the losses.

Nifty Bank on the rise

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Most Sensex shares advance

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Crude oil update

Oil slumped to less than $16 a barrel on Wednesday, hitting its lowest since 1999, with the market awash with excess supply as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer demand for fuels.

Brent crude, which fell 24% in the previous session, touched $15.98 a barrel, its lowest since June 1999. It was trading down $1.83, or 9.5%, at $17.50 by 0840 GMT. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 15 cents, or 1.3%, at $11.42. (Reuters)

Nifty Auto gains more than 2%

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Asian shares end higher

Most Asian equities settled up even as the historic collapse in global crude oil prices kept markets under pressure. Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day 0.7% lower.

Most Nifty sectoral indices in the green

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TRAI moots changes in SUC for spectrum sharing

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday floated a consultation paper for changes in calculation and application of spectrum usage charge (SUC) paid by telecom companies to share airwaves.

Facebook-Jio collaboration not for Whatsapp Pay rollout

Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Platforms could do a lot for India's internet and digital ecosystem, but helping Whatsapp Pay get a VIP entry into the payments universe won’t be one of them, said the companies on a concall with the media.

Rupee at near day's high

The Indian rupee trimmed early losses and traded at near days's high of 76.65 against the US dollar, compared to Tuesday's close of 76.87.

Den Network hits upper circuit on strong Q4 numbers

Shares of Den Networks surged on Wednesday as the company reported a turnaround in its profitability. The stock hit the 5% upper circuit at ₹41 on the BSE after the company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹24.66 crore for the quarter ended March compared to a net loss of ₹186.39 crore in the year-ago period.

European indices open higher

Benchmark European stocks rebounded slightly at open on Wednesday, as oil prices continued to slide. London gained 0.8%, Frankfurt climbed 0.9% and Paris won 0.3%. The indices had tumbled 3-4% on Tuesday.

Jio-Facebook deal update

Jio Platforms will use ₹28,000 crore from the ₹43,574 crore deal with Facebook to redeem optionally convertible preference shares (OCPS) of its parent Reliance Industries and retain ₹15,000 crore in its books, said Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy at Reliance Jio Infocomm, in the conference call that also had vice president and managing director of Facebook's India unit Ajit Mohan joining it.

Apollo Tyres partially resumes operations

The tyre maker has partially re-started operations at its manufacturing plant in Kerala's Perambra with effect from 21 April. Shares of the company rose 2.5% to ₹94.25 on the BSE.

ICICI Bank extends losses

Investors remained bearish on the stock in early deals as the private lender confirmed its exposure of $100 million to Singapore-based bankrupt company Hin Leong Trading Pte, which has filed for protection against bankruptcy in Singapore courts.

Crude oil update

Oil in London tumbled to the lowest in almost 21 years as the global benchmark was sucked into the rout that sent U.S. futures below zero for the first time ever this week.

Brent futures for June delivery lost 15% to trade near $16 a barrel while New York’s West Texas Intermediate fell 5% having lost almost half its value on Tuesday. Prices continue to crash amid fears the massive glut that sent May WTI to as low as minus $40.32 a barrel on Monday is only going to get worse. (Bloomberg)

Nifty Bank up over 1%

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Lockdown hits Tata Steel's Q4 sales volumes

The nationwide lockdown affected the steel major's sales volumes in the March quarter of fiscal 2020. However, production volume of the company grew 6% year-on-year (YoY) to 4.74 million tonnes in the fourth quarter. The company also reported an 8% YoY production growth for FY20, along with the best ever annual sales. Shares were down marginally at ₹265.15 on the BSE.

Reliance Industries on Nifty Energy

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Rupee opens at record low

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 76.90, a record low, against the US dollar, compared with Tuesday's close of 76.87.

BSE SmallCap trades lower

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BSE MidCap slips over 1%

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Nifty top gainers, losers

At over 5%, Reliance Industries was the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index, followed by Zee Entertainment, Bharti Infratel, Asian Paints and Dr Reddy's Laboratories, among others, while ONGC, Vedanta, Indian Oil Corp, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindalco were the biggest laggards.

L&T to construct technology park in Trivandrum

The construction and engineering major has received an order to build a technology park in Kerala's Trivandrum over an area of 2.3 million sq. ft. Shares of the company fell 0.7% to ₹865 on the BSE.

Nifty sectoral indices mixed

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Market Open: Sensex, Nifty marginally up

After opening marginally higher, benchmark indices pared gains and traded volatile. While Sensex opened up 101.55 points, or 0.33%, at 30,738.26, the Nifty 50 index was almost flat at 8,999.50.

Sensex constituents mixed

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SGX Nifty trades flat

SGX Nifty, which indicates the movement for Indian equities, traded unchanged at 8,957.50. Other indices in Asia fell in early deals, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down over 1%, while Korea's Kospi index declining 0.7%. However, Shanghai Composite index in China was flat at 2,828.70.

Stocks to watch today

HDFC Ltd has lowered its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) on housing loans by 15 basis points, effective 22 April. This will benefit all HDFC Ltd retail home loan customers. Reliance Industries, Federal Bank, IIFL Finance, Punjab & Sind Bank and ACC are some other stocks that may be in focus.

Dow Jones, S&P decline around 3%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.67% to end at 23,018.88 points, while the S&P 500 lost 3.07% to 2,736.57. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.48% to end Tuesday's session at 8,263.23.

Oil prices continue bear stranglehold on US stocks

Key Wall Street indices tumbled for a second straight day on Tuesday as a collapse in US oil prices and bleak forecasts by companies worsened fears of a deep economic downturn. All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes fell 1.6% or more, with energy sliding for the seventh time in eight sessions a day after the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract crashed below zero with oil traders running out of storage for May deliveries. With the collapse spilling into June futures contracts, equity investors became wary of the extent of the economic damage from sweeping lockdown measures that have halted business activity and sparked millions of layoffs.