Stock Market at Close: Sensex, Nifty Fall Amid Geopolitical Tensions; Oil & Gas Stocks Gain

The Indian stock market ended deep in the red amid global political turmoil. At close, Sensex declined 845 points at 73,399.78 while Nifty fell 246 points and ended the session at 22,272.50.

Around 917 stocks advanced and 2,984 declined while 148 stocks remained unchanged.

Among the sectors, except oil & gas and metal, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down 1.5 percent each.

India likely to receive above average monsoon rains in 2024: IMD

India is likely to receive above average monsoon rains in 2024, the government said on April 15, a big boost for the country that depends heavily on the summer rains for its farm production. The monsoon, which usually arrives over the southern tip of Kerala around June 1 and retreats in mid-September, is expected to total 106% of the long-term average this year, said M Ravichandran, secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

India’s retail inflation eases to a 10-month low of 4.85% in March

India’s headline retail inflation rate eased to a ten-month low of 4.85 percent in the previous month, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on April 12. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation print in February was 5.09 percent.

At 4.85 percent, the latest headline retail inflation figure is the lowest since May 2023 when it came in at 4.31 percent. The March figure was also slightly lower than expectations, with economists having predicted prices likely to have eased to 4.91 percent compared to a month ago, according to a Reuters survey.

Also read: What is Intraday Trading?

Top Nifty50 Gainers

Top Nifty50 Losers

Asian Markets Fall

Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday as traders weighed the impact of Iran’s massive drone and missile attacks on Israel over the weekend, with focus also on key economic data from China and Japan later in the week. Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles against military targets in Israel on Saturday in an attack that U.S. President Joe Biden described as “unprecedented”, according to a CNBC.com report.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.74 percent, paring some losses, to close at 39,232.8, while the broad-based Topix was down 0.23 percent at 2,753.2. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.42 percent to finish at 2,670.43. The small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.94 percent, closing at its lowest level since February 13.

European Markets Updates:

European shares inched up on Monday, with caution around Middle East tensions at the fore. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. FTSE slipped 0.5 percent at 7,955.67 while CAC added 0.6 percent at 8,058.75. German DAX gained 0.81 percent at 18,076.39.

Stocks in News

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation

On April 15, 2024, the share price of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) surged by 6 percent following a buy recommendation from Jefferies. The surge came amidst Jefferies’ bullish outlook on ONGC’s stock, citing attractive valuations and potential for significant upside. Jefferies initiated a buy call on ONGC with a target price of Rs 390 per share, implying a remarkable upside of 47 percent from the current level, according to a moneycontrol report.

Senco Gold

The stock price of Senco Gold Limited, one of India’s leading jewellery retailers soared over 17 percent following the release of its business update. This update unveiled impressive financial figures, including a notable 28 percent revenue growth for the fiscal year 2023-24 and a staggering 39 percent year-on-year growth for the quarter ended March 2024.

Aster DM Healthcare

Share price of Aster DM Healthcare zoomed 14 percent to hit a fresh record high of Rs 558 after the company announced a special dividend of Rs 118 a share. However the stock closed with gains of 7 percent on April 15. The Board of Directors of Aster DM Healthcare approved a special dividend of Rs 118 per share. This dividend is in response to the proceeds from the sale of the GCC business and the redemption of Redeemable Preference shares. These shares were issued to the Company by Affinity Holdings Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned material subsidiary. The dividend will be payable to shareholders listed on the Register of Members of the Company as on the Record Date.

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Source: BSE, NSE

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