ETMarkets After Hours: Rise of Kotak Bank & 9 other stories you must know

NEW DELHI: Geopolitical tensions could not scare investors on Dalal Street on Monday, as the bulls scripted a solid rebound. After opening nearly 300 points down, the headline indices slowly and gradually climbed up to settle with respectable gains.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 113 points to end the session at 34,305, while NSE's Nifty50 closed 48 points higher to end above the crucial 10,500 level at 10,528.

It was an action-packed day. Let's check out key market movers:


Kotak Bank 2nd most valued lender
Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank toppled country's biggest lender SBI in terms of market capitalisation to become the second most valued bank after HDFC Bank. At close, Kotak Bank’s market cap stood at Rs 2,23,342 crore, ahead of SBI’s Rs 2,22,846.95 crore. HDFC Bank's m-cap was at Rs 5,03,097.17. Shares of Kotak Bank ended 2 per cent higher at Rs 1,172 apiece while those of SBI closed nearly 1 per cent lower at Rs 249.30.

IMD forecasts normal monsoon for 2018
India will have normal monsoon this year, IMD said on Monday. Rainfall, the Met department said, will be 97 per cent of the long-term average. “The country won't face deficient monsoon rainfall this year (June-September period),” IMD chief KJ Ramesh said.

Tough road ahead for Tata Motors
In the past three months, the Tata Motors stock has lost about 20 per cent. With JLR still to regain its lustre and projected earnings per share at Tata Motors falling 38 per cent since January 2017, reasonable valuations alone may not be enough to draw long-term investors back to the stock. On Monday, the stock slipped 5 per cent to settle at Rs 339 apiece on BSE. READ MORE

Block deals in Idea
Idea Cellular ended 1.32 per cent lower at Rs 71.25 apiece on BSE after 39 lakh shares of Idea Cellular changed hands in two block deals. This apart, 12 lakh shares of ICICI Bank changed hands in a block deal. The stock shut shop at Rs 287.40, down just 0.28 per cent. Shares of Chennai Petro ended nearly 1 per cent higher at Rs 339 after 4.3 lakh shares(0.3 per cent equity) traded in 2 blocks on NSE at Rs 333.15/share.

WPI inflation eases to 2.47% in March
Inflation based on wholesale prices eased marginally to 2.47 per cent in March on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables. On the basis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI), inflation was 2.48 per cent in February and 5.11 per cent in March last year. Inflation of the 'fuel and power' basket, however, rose to 4.70 per cent in March from 3.81 per cent in the previous month. READ MORE

Rupee slips to 5-month low
The rupee on Monday plunged to 65.45 against the US dollar, its lowest level since November 14, 2017, during the afternoon trade. Earlier, the domestic currency opened 12 paise lower at 65.32 against the US dollar as rising crude oil prices stoked concerns of widening current account deficit and renewed inflation fears amid worsening geopolitical environment. READ MORE

Big Bull’s unflinching love for JPA
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s name again appeared among key individual shareholders in crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates, latest shareholding data provided by the company showed on Monday. Jhunjhunwala was holding 3 crore shares, or 1.23 per cent stake, in the company as of March 31, 2018. The stock ended nearly 2 per cent higher at Rs 19.70 apiece. READ MORE

UCO Bank hits 12-year low
Shares of state-run lender UCO Bank nosedived 18 per cent in the intraday trade to hit its lowest since August 30, 2006. The CBI on Saturday booked former UCO Bank CMD Arun Kaul and others for allegedly cheating the bank to the tune of Rs 621 crore. The agency is carrying out searches at 10 locations – eight of them in Delhi and two in Mumbai – in this connection, PTI reported quoting sources. The stock, however, pared some losses and ended 6.49 per cent lower at Rs 20.90 apiece on BSE.

Spurt in open interest
DCB Bank witnessed the biggest spike in open interest at 44.81 per cent. Pidilite Industries (19.20 per cent) and Mindtree (18.75 per cent) were the next on the list.

Franklin India fund buys 1.8% stake in TeamLease Services
Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund on Monday bought 3 lakh shares of TeamLease Services, which amounts to 1.8 per cent stake in the company, showed bulk deal data on the NSE's website. Shares of TeamLease Services ended down 1.8 per cent at Rs 2,168.35 apiece.