After Market: HDFC Bank, RCap, BoB log solid gains; 158 stocks ready to rally

NEW DELHI: Thursday's session saw frontline equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, scale fresh record highs before giving up entire gains to close in the negative.

Sensex swung nearly 1,500 points from an all-time high of 40,124 to hit an intraday low of 38,651 before eventually closing at 38,811, down 299 points or 0.76 per cent.

“The market couldn’t sustain its record high for long as the win was largely priced in. Now the focus would return to earnings, crude oil prices and the US-China trade tension,” said Jayant Manglik, President for Retail Distribution at Religare Broking.

Let's take a look at the key highlights of Thursday's session:

HDFC Bank slides 3%
Shares of HDFC Bank fell 2.94 per cent to Rs 2,334 after the lender’s board approved share split. In a BSE filing, the company said the board of directors has approved the sub-division of equity shares from one share of the face value of Rs 2 each to two shares of the face value of Rs 1 each.

Reliance Capital rises 3%
Shares of Reliance Capital climbed 2.77 per cent to Rs 131.90, extending the gains into the second consecutive session. In two sessions, the stock has risen over 8 per cent. The company said it would exit the mutual fund business by selling its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) to its joint venture partner Japan's Nippon Life Insurance.

BoB extends gains
Shares of Bank of Baroda (BoB) closed 1.03 per cent higher at Rs 127.50, extending gains into the sixth successive session, which has boosted the stock by 18 per cent. On Wednesday, BoB reported Rs 991.37 crore loss for March quarter against a Rs 3,102.34 crore loss in the corresponding quarter last year. Most brokerages have positive views on the stock. Motilal Oswal has given a ‘buy’ recommendation with a price target of Rs 150.

IndusInd Bank jumps 5%
Shares of IndusInd Bank settled at Rs 1,596.85, up 5.23 per cent even as the private lender on Wednesday posted lower-than-expected financial results for March quarter. Brokerages still show faith in the stock. Motilal Oswal Securities has a buy recommendation on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,900. Goldman Sachs maintained a neutral view on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,948.

200 stocks hit lower circuits
As many as 192 stocks, including Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Unitech, Gammon Infrastructure Projects, Asian Star and Blue Coast Hotels, hit their lower circuits on BSE. On the other hand, Ramky Infrastructure, TIL, Omkar Speciality Chemicals and Ballarpur Industries were among 134 stocks that hit their upper circuit limits.

Top gainers & losers
Shares of Titaanium Ten Enterprises (down 20 per cent), Nitesh Estates (down 17.55 per cent), Sintex Industries (down 15.42 per cent), Pudumjee Paper Products (down 13.11 per cent) and Vaswani Industries (down 12.17 per cent) were the top losers on BSE. On the other hand, TIL (up 20 per cent), Ramky Infra (up 19.96 per cent), Coral India Finance (up 19.55 per cent), Rushil Decor (up 18.64 per cent) and Sun Retail (up 16.86 per cent) emerged top gainers.

Spurt in open interest
With a 33.33 per cent change in open interest (OI), Bank of Baroda led the pack of stocks that witnessed a spurt in OI. It was followed by Adani Ports (31.19 per cent), Sun TV (26.57 per cent), Havells India (24.48 per cent), Ujjivan Financial Services (20.83 per cent) and State Bank of India (20.02 per cent).

158 stocks ready to rise
Momentum indicator moving average convergence divergence, or MACD, showed bullish crossovers on 158 counters on BSE, signalling that these stocks may witness gains in the coming sessions. Among them were GMR Infrastructure, Zee Entertainment, India Cements, NTPC and Escorts. On the other hand, Hindalco, Jagran Prakashan, Sintex Industries, Panchmahal Steel and Orbit Exports were among 38 stocks that showed bearish crossovers.