CNBC-TV18 Closing Bell: Indices settle with strong gains led by pharma, metals, consumer shares, Sensex rises 263 points, Nifty above 11K

Closing Bell: Sensex settles 263 points higher, Nifty above 11K##Closing Bell: Sensex settles 263 points higher, Nifty above 11K

The BSE Sensex ended 263 points higher, or 0.71 percent, to close Friday's trade at 37,332. The NSE Nifty50 also jumped 75 points, or 0.68 percent, to 11,023. The Nifty MidCap index outperformed rising 0.95 percent, while all major Nifty sectoral indices ended positive with pharma, metals and FMCG leading. Among gainers, Yes Bank, Sun Pharma, ZEEL, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel gained between 3 and 5.5 percent. Bharti Infratel, Coal India, Eicher Motors, ONGC and Power Grid shares rose between 1 and 3.5 percent. 

Lakshmi Vilas Bank down on fears over proposed merger##Lakshmi Vilas Bank down on fears over proposed merger

Shares of Lakshmi Vilas Bank fell 5 percent to an over 10-year low of Rs 36.50 due to concerns over the lender's merger with Indiabulls Housing Finance. The proposed merger has come under a cloud after Parthasarathi Mukherjee resigned as managing director and chief executive officer of the bank on Wednesday, citing "personal reasons". The agreement to merge the two entities was signed under the stewardship of Mukherjee. So far this month, shares of the lender have fallen over 24 percent.

HDFC up 1.2% as co to sell entire 10% stake in GSTN##HDFC up 1.2% as co to sell entire 10% stake in GSTN

Shares of Housing Development Finance Corp rose 1.2 percent on Friday as the non-bank lender will sell its entire 10 percent stake in Goods & Services Tax Network for Rs 10 million to seven states and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. The stake sale will be completed by November 10. The sale is in line with the decision made by the GST Council to convert Goods & Service Tax Network into a 100 percent government-owned company, with the Centre holding 50 percent stake and state governments and Union Territories holding the rest. On Thursday, HDFC Bank - subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Corp -also said it will sell its entire 10 percent stake in Goods & Services Tax Network for Rs 10 million to 13 states and Union territories. Goods & Service Tax Network is a non-profit organisation to facilitate the collection of goods and services tax. The company's total revenue in 2017-18 (Apr-Mar) was Rs 1.7 billion. 

IndiGo's Damodaran says no probe underway over related-party transactions##IndiGo's Damodaran says no probe underway over related-party transactions

IndiGo chairman M Damodaran, in an interview with CNBC-TV18 on Friday, clarified that there was no investigation by any regulator over related-party transactions.

"We are on our way to peace, there has been a conversation among promoters," he said, adding "the words correspondence and investigation are loosely interchanged by people."

The airline's two promoters Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia have been involved in a bitter dispute since nearly a year over disagreements about corporate governance standards and related-party transactions between IndiGo and Bhatia's InterGlobe Enterprises. READ MORE

Market will recover from cyclical slowdown in H2FY20, says Marcellus Investment’s Mukherjea##Market will recover from cyclical slowdown in H2FY20, says Marcellus Investment’s Mukherjea

Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, on Friday, said that the economic slowdown is cyclical and that the market will recover from it in the second half of the current financial year.

“Everybody knows that we will get a weak GDP print and corporate earnings in Q2. So if there is any stoppage in positive announcements from the government of India, the apprehension immediately kicks in and for this slide to be arrested we need the FM to come up with specifics of fiscal boost sooner rather than later,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18. READ MORE

Here's a quick wrap up of what has so far happened in the markets today##Here's a quick wrap up of what has so far happened in the markets today

-Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 200 points and the Nifty reclaimed the 11,000 level in early trade on Friday led by gains in financial and energy stocks amid positive global cues.

-The Sensex has added over 100 points in volatile trade boosted by buying in metal and auto counters. The Nifty traded below the 10900 mark.

-Trade sentiment remaied tepid ahead of the release of the GDP figures after market hours today.

-Adani Green Energy ltd shares surged over 10 percent on Friday, hitting the day’s high at Rs 47.85 per share.

-Gruh Finance shares rallied 8 percent on Friday on a report the country's largest mortgage lender HDFC is likely to sell 9.2 percent in the company for Rs 1,678 crore.

Finance minister likely to announce mega-merger plan for PSU banks today##Finance minister likely to announce mega-merger plan for PSU banks today

Coal India falls 3% as sales in August likely to be weak##Coal India falls 3% as sales in August likely to be weak

Shares of Coal India fell 3 percent as the company's sales are seen weak in August due to poor production and as investors assess the impact of the government's move to allow 100 percent foreign direct investment in commercial mining. Brokerage firm Edelweiss Securities, however, expects the company to meet its production growth target of 4.5 percent in 2019-20 (April-March) driven a spurt in output in October-March. So far today, 5.6 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, higher than the daily average trading volumes of 4.3 million shares. At 12.40 pm, shares of the company were down 2.3 percent at Rs 184.5.

Telecom outlook negative: India Ratings##Telecom outlook negative: India Ratings

Credit profiles of telecom operators (telcos) will remain under pressure in the medium term due to intense competition, elevated debt levels and continued reliance on capital infusion for debt servicing and capex, India Ratings, a Fitch Group company has said. Reliance Jio will be the only telco whose market share may increase to 40-45 per cent by 2022, it said. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a negative outlook on the telecommunications services sector for the remainder of FY20.

"Competitive intensity in the telecom industry has remained elevated with Reliance Jio Infocomm's (RJio) data tariffs that are 25-30 per cent lower than those of Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti) and Vodafone-Idea Limited (Voda-Idea)," said the report.

NTPC sinks on plans to enter coal mining business##NTPC sinks on plans to enter coal mining business

Shares of NTPC sank 6 percent after the company said it has incorporated a subsidiary to take up commercial coal mining operations in the country. NTPC's decision comes on the back of the Cabinet approving 100 percent foreign direct investment in the commercial coal mining sector after allowing private participation in coal mining in April 2018. NTPC currently produces coal from 11 coal blocks allocated to it for fuelling its power plants. The company aims to become the second-largest coal producer behind Coal India. Shares of NTPC were down 3.9 percent at Rs 118.35.  

NSE co-location case: Sebi absolves 3 former executives, seeks action against 2##NSE co-location case: Sebi absolves 3 former executives, seeks action against 2

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has let off the hook three former executives of the National Stock Exchange who were accused of failing to ensure equal access for all brokers to the bourse’s network servers. But Sebi has asked the exchange to take action against two others for having shown laxity and dereliction of duty in the so-called co-location case. NSE officials were accused of providing some high-frequency traders unfair access through co-location servers placed at the site of the exchange, which could aid high-speed trading. READ MORE

Nifty Realty on longest gaining spree in 10 months##Nifty Realty on longest gaining spree in 10 months

The Nifty Realty index rose for the sixth straight session on Friday, marking its longest gaining spree in over 10 months, due to hope of further measures from the government to boost the troubled sector. Shares of DLF, Sobha Ltd, Oberoi Realty, Prestige Estate Projects, Indiabulls Real Estate and Godrej Properties gained 0.2-1.2 percent today, taking the Nifty Realty 0.5 percent higher.

Adani Green Energy surges over 10% on acquisition of 10 renewable energy projects##Adani Green Energy surges over 10% on acquisition of 10 renewable energy projects

Adani Green Energy ltd shares surged over 10 percent on Friday, hitting the day’s high at Rs 47.85 per share. The stock gained value after the company announced on Thursday it would acquire ten solar energy assets from Essel Green Energy and Essel Infraprojects for Rs 1,300 crore. The total generating capacity of the energy of the solar energy assets is 205 MW.

“Adani Green Energy has entered into a securities purchase agreement for acquisition of 100 percent equity interest in ten companies… from Essel Green Energy and Essel Infraprojects,” the company said in a BSE filing. READ MORE