Sensex, Nifty end mixed amid volatility; Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto top gainers

After falling nearly 1.5% intraday on June 18, Indian benchmark equity indices staged a dramatic recovery towards fag-end of the session and ended the week on a flat note. Sensex jumped 743 points from the day’s low to end at 52,344.45, up 21.12 points or 0.04%. Nifty, on the other hand, surged about 240 points from the day’s low to settle at 15,683.35, down 8.05 points or 0.05%. from its previous close.

Metal stocks witnessed a meltdown triggered by a sharp sell-off in global commodities.

“The market continued to be in the consolidation phase witnessing broad-based selling, taking cues from the Fed policy and mixed global markets.  US bond yields have cooled off from its high as global markets seem to have digested the latest Fed comments. China’s plan to sell metal reserves to check recent price hikes has pulled down the sector’s sentiments. The market is likely to continue in the consolidation phase for a short while, which can be an opportunity for investors to buy on dips,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Gainers & losers

Sectoral stack

Barring Nifty FMCG (up 0.29%) most sectoral indices ended in the red. Nifty PSU Bank declined nearly 2% while the Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal, and Nifty Realty indices slipped up to 1% each. While Nifty Pharma and Nifty Bank lost anywhere between 0.10-0.37%.

Broader markets

The correction was deeper in the broader markets where the BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap indices closed 0.70% and 0.89% down, respectively. Even the market breadth remained negative as 1,327 stocks declined compared to 620 shares advancing and 313 scrips remained unchanged on the NSE.

Primary market

The initial public offer (IPO) of Dodla Dairy received bids for 16.89 crore shares as against 85.07 lakh shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 14:10 IST on Friday (18 June 2021). The issue was subscribed 19.86 times.

The IPO of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences received bids for 2.63 crore shares as against 1.44 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 14:10 IST on Friday (18 June 2021). The issue was subscribed 1.83 times.

The IPOs of Krishna Institute and Dodla Dairy opened for subscription on Wednesday (June 16) and will close today (June 18).

Global markets

European shares fell across the board while most Asian stocks declined on Friday, 18 June 2021.

On the data front, May’s U.K. retail sales fell 1.4% month on month, official statistics revealed Friday.

Meanwhile, the German Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.5% month on month in May. On an annual basis, the PPI was 7.2% against a projection of 6.4%.

The Bank of Japan on Friday announced its decision to hold steady on monetary policy as well as an extension of the duration of its pandemic relief program. For the time being, the Bank will closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 and will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary, and also it expects short- and long-term policy interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels, the Japanese central bank said in its monetary policy statement.

In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second day as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest policy update, in which it moved up its timeline for interest rate hikes and forecast higher inflation. A fresh bout of rotation from cyclical stocks pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq gauge to another record.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before to 412,000.