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Markets this week: Hindalco top gainer, Maruti Suzuki top loser

Indian shares edged lower on Friday as investors booked profits from recent gains, with losses in energy and auto stocks outweighing gains in index heavyweights like NTPC, Larsen and Toubro.

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By Pranati Deva  March 25, 2019, 6:59:37 AM IST (Updated)

Markets this week: Hindalco top gainer, Maruti Suzuki top loser
Indian shares edged lower on Friday as investors booked profits from recent gains, with losses in energy and auto stocks outweighing gains in index heavyweights like NTPC, Larsen and Toubro.


The indices had witnessed a pre-election rally in seven out of eight previous sessions, fuelled by optimism that the current coalition government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed 0.6 percent (222 points) lower at 38,164, ending the week 0.4 percent higher. The broader NSE Nifty declined 0.5 percent to 11,456, gaining 0.3 percent for the week. The Nifty Midcap underperformed indices, falling 0.7 percent for the week.



Among sectors, the Nifty Auto fell the most, down 4.7 percent followed by the Nifty Media (down 3.8 percent) and the Nifty Metal (down 0.8 percent) for the week. The Nifty Realty was the best performing sector, up 6.1 percent followed by the Nifty FMCG, the Nifty Energy and the Nifty Bank.

Nifty Gainers

Among top Nifty gainer this week, Hindalco was the best performing stock this week, gaining nearly five percent even as the Nifty Metal index declined for the week.

Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance also surged 3.8 percent. The stock has recovered 28 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 576 on February 11, this year.

Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Yes Bank, and Axis Bank rallied in the range of 3-5 percent.

Banking and financial stocks traded higher in the week with the Nifty Bank hitting 30,000- levels for the first time ever in morning trade on Friday. The index, however, pared gains on profit booking to end 0.8 percent lower.



Nifty Losers

Auto stocks were among the major losers on the Nifty50 index this week amid reports that the manufacturers are set to cut production.

Maruti Suzuki fell the most on Nifty this week, down 7.5 percent on news reports that the car market leader slashed its production by a quarter amidst slowing demand in the passenger vehicle market. Eicher Motors and HeroMoto Corp also fell 5 percent each during the week.

Coal India, down 4.6 percent, was also one of the biggest laggards of the week, after the company’s interim dividend of Rs 5.85 per share, announced last week, was lower than the street’s expectations.

Zee fell over 4.3 percent for the week as investors booked profits after it surged post reports that Sony Corp is in advanced talks to buy a 20 to 25 percent stake in Subhash Chandra's Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and form a strategic partnership with the company.

BPCL and HPCL also slipped 4.4 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively for the week.

MidCap gainers

In the midcap space, Reliance Communications added over 19 percent after Mukesh Ambani helped Anil Ambani clear dues of Rs 580 crore owed to Sweden’s Ericsson.

IndiGo was up 10 percent as the market share of the airline rose to 43.4 percent in February as compared to 42.5 percent in January, according to aviation regulator DGCA.

Punjab National Bank also rose over 6.4 percent after Nirav Modi, accused in the Rs 14,600 crore scam was arrested in London this week and was remanded in custody till March 29 by a UK court.

Jubilant Foodworks, IGL and Kaveri Seeds were other major mid-cap gainers this week, rising between 4 and 6.5 percent.



MidCap Losers

Motherson Sumi fell 11 percent this week followed by Bharat Forge (down 7.6 percent), NMDC (down 6.7 percent), TVS Motors (down 5.7 percent), and Shriram Transport (down 5.4 percent).