Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Nov.15: Advances in ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Power Grid, and Asian Paints were countered by losses in Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, and Larsen & Toubro, bringing the Indian equity benchmarks to a halt on Monday. The benchmarks opened with a gap, with the Sensex jumping 350 points and the Nifty going above its key threshold of 18,200. However, profit taking at higher levels caused the benchmarks to retreat from intraday highs, according to analysts.
The Sensex finished 32 points higher, or 0.05 % higher, at 60,719, while the Nifty 50 index rose 7 points to 18,109.
Eight of the National Stock Exchange’s 15 sector indices finished higher, headed by the Nifty Healthcare index, which gained more than 2%. The Nifty Pharma, FMCG, Information Technology, and Consumer Durables indices all increased by 1.3-1.45%.
The Nifty PSU Bank, Metal, Media, Bank, and Auto indices, on the other hand, all finished lower.
Mid- and small-cap stocks closed the day with mixed results, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rising 0.32 % and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index down 0.25 %.
SoftBank-backed PolicyBazaar’s parent PB Fintech was the first market debutant, and it opened at a premium of 17% to the IPO price. Sigachi Industries, a refiner of wood pulp, listed at a 250 percent premium to its IPO price of Rs.163.
The highest Nifty gainer was Power Grid, which surged 3.13% to settle at Rs.188. ONGC, ITC, Cipla, UPL, Britannia Industries, Asian Paints, Divi’s Labs, Nestle India, and Kotak Mahindra Bank all saw their stock prices rise by 1% to 2%.
Coal India, on the other hand, dropped 4.3 percent after an international agreement to decrease coal use sent miners’ stocks down. Tata Steel, Hindalco, Eicher Motors, SBI Life, JSW Steel, Shree Cements, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Life, Bajaj Auto, and State Bank of India all had their stocks fall between 0.7 and 3.3%.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was negative, with 2,113 shares closing down and 1,305 shares closing higher.
