Market movers: Banks jump, pharma names bleed; 270 stocks hit upper circuit

NEW DELHI: Heavy buying in bank and financial stocks during the afternoon session propelled the domestic equity indices, as nations across the world prepared to reopen their economies.

Positive management commentaries from banks and deal announcements also sparked a buying spree in financials, while reports of a meeting between the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to discuss the second round of stimulus measures also helped.

Buying was broadbased, but smallcap stocks showed a somewhat weaker trend. India VIX tumbled about 8 per cent to 35 level, signalling some stability.

Here are the major trends seen during the session:-

Q4 nos, M&A deals take banks higher

A positive commentary from management of IndusInd Bank that sidelined investor concerns pushed the stock up 15 per cent to Rs 468. Meanwhile, Axis Bank gained 6.61 per cent to Rs 455 after the company said it will acquire 29 per cent stake in Max Life Insurance. Shares of Bajaj Finance, HDFC and ICICI Bank also spiked up to 9 per cent.

Pharma stocks bleed

Pharma names, which has been a consistent outperformer in the current bear market, saw profit booking in Tuesday’s trade. All but one constituent stock of the Nifty Pharma closed in the red, Lupin was the biggest loser, down 4.39 per cent to Rs 857. Sun Pharma, Biocon and Glenmark Pharma dropped 3-4 per cent taking the Nifty Pharma index down 2.25 per cent.

Smallcaps lag

Smallcap index underperformed its peers for a second day this week. Nifty Smallcap was up 0.74 per cent to 4021. In comparison, Nifty Midcap gained 1.3 per cent to 13,061, Nifty 500 index 0.90 per cent to 7672 and Nifty 50 index 1.06 per cent to 9,380.

Volatility down ahead of expiry

India VIX, the measure of volatility in the market, dropped 7.60 per cent to 35.14 ahead of the April F&O expiry on Thursday. “We expect that earnings announcements particularly from Nifty pack (HUL, Tech Mahindra) and F&O expiry will continue to lead stock-specific swings this week. We reiterate our view focusing on stock-selection and trade management amid the prevailing uncertainty,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking.

Stocks that hit 52-week lows

As many as 90 stocks hit 52-week-low during the date, as per data available on BSE. They included Chalet Hotels, Cyient, Godrej Industries, Inox Leisure, Mahindra Lifespace, Rajesh Exports and Shriram City Union Finance, among others.

Stocks that hit 52-week highs

Over 30 names, including Alkyl Amines, APL, Laurus Labs, Navin Fluorine and Pfizer, among others, kissed their year-highs on Tuesday.

269 stocks touch upper limits

Nearly 270 scrips touched their upper limits set by BSE on Tuesday. They included Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, VA Tech Wabag, Gayatri Projects, Mahindra CIE Automotive, Sadbhav Engineering and Credit Access Grameen, among others.


Where is NIfty headed?

Nifty is hinting at a short-term breakout, which if materialises is likely to take it higher by around 200 points, analysts said, adding, however, that one should not miss the bigger picture as overall we are in a bear market rally.

“From a broader perspective, we remain contrarian bearish on the index and believe the next bigger move is on the downside, and the index is likely to retest 7,500-7,700 on the downside over a period. 9,150 is the near term support on the downside and a breach below the mentioned levels will trigger sharp fall on the downside,” said Manav Chopra, CMT, Head Research – Equity, Indiabulls Securities.