Market Movers: Bajaj Fin, HDFC twins bleed; NIA surges; 219 stocks flash ‘buy’ signals

The bears tightened grip on Dalal Street and dragged the benchmark indices lower on Monday amid a spike in the number of coronavirus cases and reports that companies have started delaying payments to their vendors.

Bank and financial stocks were the biggest losers with Bajaj Finance plunging 12 per cent. It was followed by HDFC that fell 11 per cent. Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank fell 7-8 per cent.

New India Assurance was among the biggest gainers after it agreed to provide insurance cover to the healthcare providers fighting Covid. Strides Pharma and Lupin were among other gainers.

The 30-share pack Sensex plunged 1,375 points for the day to close at 28,440, while the broader 50-share Nifty shed 370 points to close at 8,289.

“It would be difficult for the market to bounce back in the absence of any positive news regarding Covid-19. Technically, Nifty closing below 8,500 is a negative signal. We can expect further weakness if it breaks below 8,200 as it could then fall to 8,000 or 7,800 levels,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities.

Here is a lowdown of the movers and shakers of Monday’s session on Dalal Street:

NIA to insure doctors
State-owned New India Assurance has agreed to provide insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to about 22 lakh healthcare providers, who are on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus. Shares of the company jumped 13.20 per cent to Rs 111 on the news.

PNB unveils new logo
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has unveiled a new logo as it merged United Bank of India and OBC into it with effect from April 1. The new logo will bear distinct signages of all the three public sector lenders. Shares of the company dipped 1.64 per cent to Rs 32.90.

BoB slashes loan rates
State-run Bank of Baroda (BoB) said it has slashed the repo-linked lending rate by 0.75 per cent, bringing down interest rates on personal, retail and MSME loans with effect from March 28. The stock dipped 3.58 per cent to Rs 52.45.

No significant impact on HCL
HCL Technologies said it is not expecting any significant impact on business in March quarter on account of the coronavirus outbreak, and that booking during the period has largely been "on track" with significant part of closures happening in January. Shares of the firm, nonetheless, fell 2.69 per cent to Rs 420.

Pharma, FMCG indices gain
Nifty Pharma and NIfty FMCG were among the sectoral gainers on NSE. They added 1.36 per cent and 0.67 per cent, respectively. Nifty Financial Services and Realty indices, meanwhile, shed over 7 per cent each.

HDFC twins bleed
HDFC twins were the two biggest negative contributors to Sensex’s fall. Both together shed over 600 points. ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank were among other major negative contributors, bleeding 160 points and 114 points, respectively.

219 stocks flash ‘buy’ signals
As many as 219 shares gave ‘buy’ signals as they crossed above the signal line on the MACD indicator. They included BHEL, Shree Renuka Sugars, Trident, Bombay Dyeing, ICICI Pru Life, DLF, Marksans Pharma, Godrej Agrovet and Aurobindo Pharma, among others.

Strides gets EIR
Strides Pharma Science announced that it has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) for an inspection conducted by the USFDA in January 2020 at the company's flagship facility KRS Gardens, Bengaluru.The stock jumped 2.56 per cent to Rs 315.90 on the news.

Tata Power begins production
Private utility Tata Power said it has commenced commercial operations of 178 MW Shuakhevi hydropower project in Georgia. But Shares of the company fell 4.71 per cent to Rs 32.35.

Lupin gains on getting EIR
Drug maker Lupin said it has received an establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its inhalation research centre in Florida. The stock gained 2.39 per cent on the news.

Cadila gets USFDA nod
Domestic pharma major Zydus Cadila, part of Cadila Healthcare group, on Monday said it has received tentative approval from the US health regulator for its generic version of Parkinson's disease treatment drug Carbidopa and Levodopa extended-release capsules. Shares of Cadila Healthcare gained 0.14 per cent to Rs 253.15.