Pharma and energy stocks rallied on Friday amid a sharp jump in coronavirus cases in India, even as most headline and sectoral indices closed the day in the red.
Lupin surged 14 per cent, followed by Cipla and Sun Pharma which gained around 9 per cent each. Oil explorer ONGC and gas supplier GAIL registered smart gains ahead of a crucial Opec meeting to discuss an oil output cut.
BSE flagship Sensex closed 674 points lower at 27,590 while broader NSE Nifty shed 170 points to end at 8,083, thanks to heavy selling in bank and financial stocks.
“Investors remain concerned about the accelerated rise in infections across the world and the potential economic fallout of the same. While the timing of a control of the Covid-19 pandemic is uncertain, we are now entering the value zone. Our advice to investors is to buy companies with strong balance sheets, which should be able to ride through these difficult times,” said Sanjeev Zarbade, VP PCG Research, Kotak Securities.
Here is a lowdown of the movers and shakers of Friday’s session on Dalal Street:
Banks get Moody’s jolt
Bank shares dropped up to 15 per cent after Moody’s Investors Service changed the outlook for Indian banking system to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’. Shares of RBL Bank tumbled 15.53 per cent to Rs 110, Axis Bank tanked 9.16 per cent to Rs 325, IndusInd Bank fell 8.49 per cent to Rs 313, ICICI Bank 8.01 per cent to Rs 286 and SBI 5.92 per cent to Rs 175.
Breadth favours advances
Even as frontline and most sectoral indices closed in the red, the market breadth was slightly in favour of advances. Among those traded today, 1,135 stocks closed the day with gains against 1,104 that ended the day in red.
7th consecutive week in the red
In an instance repeated for the first time since June 2008, Nifty and Sensex fell for the seventh consecutive week. Both indices fell around 7 per cent for the week, dragged by bank and financials. Nifty Bank plunged 14 per cent for the week.
Oil & gas stocks jump
As Saudi Arabia called an Opec meeting to discuss an oil production cut, oil and gas stocks rallied, along with crude oil prices. GAIL jumped 6.73 per cent to Rs 80, ONGC 6.24 to Rs 69 and BPCL 4.62 per cent to Rs 317, among others. BSE Oil & Gas index closed up 2 per cent.
171 stocks give ‘buy’ signals
As many as 171 stocks gave ‘buy’ signals on BSE as the prices crossed below the signal line of MACD indicator. They included HPCL, IndianOil, L&T Finance Goldings, Lupin, L&T, Zee Entertainment and Tech Mahindra, among others.
Bajaj Auto sales drop
Bajaj Auto reported a 38 per cent decline in total March sales at 2,42,57 units against 3,93,351 units sold in the same month last year. Shares of the company fell 1.55 per cent to Rs 2,020.
Lupin shares rise 13%
Shares of drugmaker Lupin jumped 13.05 per cent to Rs 654.80 after it said it has received an establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its Aurangabad, Maharashtra, facility with no action indicated.
Aurobindo calls off deal
Shares of Aurobindo Pharma fell 2.50 per cent to Rs 382.35 after it called off the $1 billion Novartis’ Sandoz oral solid and dermatology portfolio acquisition due to considerable delays in gaining US FTC approval.
RIL slips as it raises debt
Shares of Reliance Industries dipped 0.23 per cent to Rs 1,078 after the company’s board approved a proposal to raise non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth up to Rs 25,000 crore in tranches.
Cipla rises 9%
Shares of Cipla jumped 8.60 per cent to Rs 449.10 after the drug maker announced completion of Phase-3 clinical study for generic fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder.
Hero’s ride punctured
Shares of Hero MotoCorp fell 3.39 per cent to Rs 1,583 after the company reported a 42.4 per cent drop in March sales at 3,34,647 units.
ITC at 1-month closing high
Shares of FMCG giant ITC jumped 6.88 per cent to close at a one-month closing high of Rs 177. However, year-to-date the stock is still down 25 per cent.
Sun Pharma sees biggest jump 11 years
Sun Pharma registered the biggest single day gain in 11 years. Shares of the drugmaker soared 9.42 per cent to close at Rs 375.90 on BSE.
