Share Market Updates from 24/January/2021

Nifty50: 14,238 ▼ -133 (-0.9%)

Sensex: 48,347 ▼ -530 (-1.0%)

After a gap-up opening, the markets showed signs of weakness early in the day and closed in the red for the third consecutive session. Among the Nifty50 stocks, 31 closed in the red. 

Sector-wise, the Nifty Pharma (1.7%) and the Nifty Metal (+0.1%) indices gained the most, while Nifty IT (-1.7%) and Nifty Realty (-0.7%) indices were the top losers.

Kotak Bank posts strong

• Kotak Mahindra Bank posted a standalone net profit of ₹1,854 crores, a 16% growth over the same period last year. Net interest income stood at ₹4,007 crores, gaining 17% during the same period. 
• The bank’s gross and net NPAs stood at 2.2% and 0.5%, respectively. Had it declared borrowers over 90 days overdue, gross and net NPAs would have stood at 3.2% and 1.2%, respectively.
• The stock was trading marginally higher today but closed 1.9% lower at the end of the session.

Grasim gains on entry into paints business

• The flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group soared nearly 9% during the day after it announced its plans to enter the paints business. The board of directors has approved an initial capital expenditure of ₹5,000 crores over the next three years. The decision is pending shareholder approval. 
• The stock closed 5.8% higher today. Meanwhile, shares of major paint makers such as Asian Paints (-2.9%), Berger Paints (-3.2%), Kansai Nerolac (-5.3%), and Akzo Nobel (-2.8%) declined today.

L&T bags two metro projects in Chennai

• The infrastructure major emerged as the lowest bidder for two metro projects in Chennai. The projects are cumulatively worth ₹3,500 crores. Other bidders included Tata Projects and Turkey-based Gulermak.  
• L&T’s shares traded flat (+0.1%) in an otherwise weak market.

DCM Shriram rallies on performance 

• The chemical and agricultural products maker posted a 44% YoY growth in net profit, which stood at ₹253 crore for Q3. However, net revenues declined 1.6% to ₹2,159 crore due to lower revenues from sugar and chemicals segments. 
• Its shares surged 8% intraday on account of a strong Q3 performance. The stock closed with gains of 3.4%.

Closing bell

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell over 5% and dragged the index along with it. The IndiaVIX rose nearly 4% today, which indicates that traders are expecting volatility to rise in the days ahead. The week will be truncated due to the Republic Day holiday tomorrow and after that, the monthly derivative expiry and run-up to the Budget will determine the market’s direction. Important market update today.