BackSensex off all-time high; ICICI Bank, Cipla top gainers, Titan slumps 10%
BSE Midcap index climbed up 0.15% but Smallcap index fell 0.36%On the BSE, 1,192 shares rose, 1,179 tumbled and 182 shares were unchanged
PremiumMUMBAI : Indian equity market recovered from losses, with BSE Sensex touching an all-time high of 40,606.91 points today, while the Nifty 50 index hit the 12,000-mark for the first time in five month led by gains in Infosys Ltd and bank stocks. Rise in pharma index heavyweights also buoyed investor sentiment.
Sensex gained 221.55 points or 0.55% to close at 40,469.78 and the Nifty 50 index rose 48.85 points or 0.41% ending at 11,966.05. The Nifty is just 137 points away from its record high of 12,103.05 on 3 June 2019.
On the earnings front, 21 out of 31 the Nifty 50 firms that have reported quarterly earnings in the September quarter beaten or matched the average estimate.
BSE Midcap index climbed up 0.15% but Smallcap index fell 0.36%. On the BSE, 1,192 shares rose, 1,179 tumbled and 182 shares were unchanged. On the Nifty 50 index, 24 stocks moved up while 25 stocks declined and 1 share remained unchanged.
Shares of Infosys Ltd rose 2.33% to close at ₹712.30 after chairman Nandan Nilekani on Wednesday said the company will take necessary steps if investigation into whistleblower complaints substantiates claims of corporate misgovernance by the management, adding that the firm has responded responsibly and complied with applicable laws and past practices.
While the company is unable to give a timeline on when the investigation will close, a summary of the ongoing investigation will be provided after it is complete, he said
Among bank stocks, ICICI Bank Ltd, IndusInd Bank Ltd, and HDFC twins were the biggest gainers, with shares rising in the range of 1-2.5%.
Cipla Ltd inched up 2.76% to close at ₹480.50 after the pharmaceutical major’s net profit rose by 25% year-on-year to ₹471 crore in July-September compared with ₹377 crore a year ago.
Titan Company Ltd was the biggest laggard among Nifty 50 companies, with shares declining 10% and closing at ₹1,156 as many brokerages downgraded the stock and cut target price following muted financial performance in the September quarter. Brokerages also reduced the growth outlook for jewellery sales for the second half of this fiscal. The jewellery business had a subdued quarter due to high gold prices.
A marginal rise in net profit could not ease worries around the company’s financials. Titan reported a 1.8% year-on-year rise in net profit to ₹320.2 crore for the quarter. Net profit was ₹314.4 crore in the same period last year.
Godrej Consumer Products ended up 2.73% at ₹741.60 driven by strong performance in the September quarter. The company’s net profit rose 13.1% to ₹334.57 crore on the back of an increase in revenue from operations. The board has also declared an interim dividend of ₹2 per equity share.
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