Market Movers: Banks, AMCs rally, many pharma stocks hit 52-week highs

NEW DELHI: Central bank stimulus globally to lift economies, RBI’s special arrangement to address liquidity woes of domestic mutual funds and stimulus hopes from the government helped domestic equities bounce on Monday.

Reliance Industries gained for the fourth consecutive session, while shares of asset managers and banks jumped following RBI’s step to open credit lines for mutual fund houses.

The session broadly belonged to largecaps. Midcaps and smallcaps had a relatively weaker performance, rising just over 1 per cent each. Sectorally, BSE Bankex, Healthcare, FMCG and Metal indices were the big winners, while the Power index finished as the sole loser.


That said, here are some of the highlights of Monday’s session:-

Asset managers gain
Asset management companies got a new lease of life as Reserve Bank of India opened a credit line of Rs 50,000 crore for them to cushion the pandemic blows. Nippon India surged 11.38 per cent to Rs 240.85, cutting nearly half of Friday’s loss, while HDFC AMC gained 5.26 per cent to Rs 2,552. Shriram AMC added 4.97 per cent to Rs 74.95.

IIB, Axis Bank rally ahead of Q4 nos
Private lenders led the rally from the front. IndusInd Bank jumped 6.33 per cent to Rs 407 ahead of its quarterly earnings, while Axis Bank, whose reports are due on Tuesday, gained 5.74 per cent to Rs 427. Both were top two gainers in the 30-share Sensex pack. Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank gained 5 and 4 per cent.

Power stocks shunned
Power stocks have been one of the most affected ones as closure of industrial establishments has cut electricity consumption. Power stocks were some one of biggest losers on BSE. CESC fell 2.36 per cent to Rs 581, followed by Kalpataru Power that fell 2.04 per cent to Rs 209. Among other losers were NTPC, NHPC, BHEL and Tata Power.

Smallcaps underperform
Though the market rally was broadbased, smallcap stocks underperformed. Nifty Smallcap index gained 0.82 per cent against a 1.4 per cent jump in Nifty50. Top gainers in Nifty Smallcap index were Infibeam Avenue, HSCL, Minda Industries and Gujarat Alkalies, while top losers included DHFL, Aegis Chemical, MMTC and Equitas Holding, among others.

Q4 impact: Mindtree, ICICI Pru fly
Mindtree shares were among the biggest gainers on BSE after the company put up a strong March quarter show on Friday. The scrip added 12.90 per cent to Rs 881. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance that kept its 3-4 year guidance intact jumped 12.20 per cent to Rs 377.55.

Over 100 stock at 52-week lows
Despite a rally in the headline indices, as many as 112 stocks hit their 12-month lows on BSE. They included Aditya Birla fashion Retail, Bajaj Finance, Chalet Hotels, Cyient, Godrej Industries, Inox Leisure and PVR, among others.

Pharma stocks hit 52-week highs
Many pharma stocks kissed their 52-week highs. They included Sun Pharma, Lupin, Laurus Labs and Cipla. Among others, Navin Fluorine, APL and Alkyl Amines were among those the 28 names that hit their yearly highs.

Stocks that hit upper circuits
As many as 270 stocks, including Infibeam Avenues, Venky’s, Sobha, Jubilant Foodworks, Wabag, Welspun India and Tejas Network, among others, zoomed to their upper ceilings during the session.

Stocks that hit lower circuits?
Some 263 stocks crashed to their lower limits during the trade. They included HEG, Graphite India, DHFL, Centrum Capital, Future Retail, and Future Consumer, among others.

Where is Nifty headed?
Nifty has been hovering in roughly 350 points range i.e. 9,000-9,350 for last two weeks and banking holds the key to the index breaking out on either side. “Traders should continue with hedged bets and wait for further clarity,” said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking.