An Evening Walk Down Dalal Street, 01 October 2018

It’s a good start to October for D-Street, with the Sensex closing around 300 points higher, while the Nifty closed above 11,000-mark. The upmove comes after days of negative movement on frontline and broader indices.

Factors such as some cool off in oil prices after touching USD 83 per barrel, along with concrete steps in IL&FS’ issue played on the market.

The government earlier today approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to seek a fresh management and Board at IL&FS, citing mismanagement and mis-governance too. It also proposed Uday Kotak’s name as director of the new Board.

Auto sales for September also saw some mixed trends, but the Nifty Auto index ended higher, amid a rally in Bajaj Auto, among others. Names such as Mahindra & Mahindra were under pressure.

The day, however, started on a lower note as financials and autos dragged the indices lower. Financials were under pressure as Yes Bank, Bandhan Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank weighed on benchmarks. But developments around IL&FS issue helped the market recover and trade higher.

Investors may also have reacted to positive global cues as US and Canada’s NAFTA deal came through, a gesture which comes as a relief amid growing trade war tensions for the US.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed up 299 points or 0.8% at 36526.1, and the Nifty was higher by 77.8 points or 0.7% at 11008.3. The market breadth was negative though as 1,059 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,610 shares, while 359 shares were unchanged.

Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, and Hindalco are the top gainers, while Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and HPCL have lost the most.