FMCG, bank stocks lift Sensex to all-time high, Nifty hits 12,350

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices ended at record high levels in a flip-flop session on Tuesday, amid optimism ahead of the signing of phase 1 of the US-China trade deal.

Investors were also keenly eyeing December quarter earnings as index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services are due to post their report cards later this week.

The 30-share Sensex closed 0.22 per cent or 93 points higher at 41,952.63, while the 50-pack Nifty rose 0.27 per cent or 33 points higher to close at 12,362.30 points. Earlier in the day, Sensex gained as much as 134.57 points to hit an all-time high of 41,994.26. Meanwhile, Nifty gained 44.70 to scale intraday record high of 12,374.25.

Market breadth favoured gainers, with advancing shares beating the declining one in the ratio of nearly 2:1.

Market at a glance:
Twenty-three of 30 Sensex stocks closed higher in today's session.

Private sector lender IndusInd was the worst performer, down 3.85 per cent. The stock fell following its Q3 numbers as a spike in provisions and worsening asset quality bothered investors.

Hero MotoCorp, ITC, NTPC, M&M and Tech Mahindra were the top performers in the Sensex kitty of stocks, rising up to 2.15 per cent.

Bandhan Bank shares climbed 1.03 per cent after the bank reported a 120.85 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 731 crore for the December quarter. Financials and FMCG stocks led the gainers on Sensex, with mortgage lender HDFC contributing the most.

IT firm Mindtree climbed 2.86 per cent ahead of its financial results for the quarter ended December 2019. Brokerages foresee a 12-19 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in net profit for Mindtree between Rs 154-167 crore in Q3FY20.

It's larger rival Wipro rose 0.88 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement.

Shares of YES Bank fell for the third straight session, declining 8.43 per cent on Tuesday as investors were nervous on the uncertainty over the lender’s fund raising plans.

Media firm TV18 Broadcast, on the other hand, jumped 14.89 per cent after it reported a 39.60 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 205.16 crore for the quarter ended December 31.

In the sectoral space, the BSE FMCG index was the top gainer, up 1.46 per cent.

Analyst's views:
"Market is moving ahead, ignoring the sudden jump in CPI with an optimistic view on the budget and earnings growth visible in the on-going Q3 results. The month-on-month bounce in inflation is expected to settle since a large part of the gains are one-time in nature, as indicated in the WPI which is still sober in-line with the slow activities of the economy.”
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Global markets:
Asian shares rose, China’s yuan jumped and safe-harbor assets slipped, amid signs of goodwill between China and the United States, as the world’s two biggest economies prepared to sign a truce in their bitter trade war, Reuters reported.

On the other hand, European shares treaded water, as investors awaited the signing of an initial trade truce to end a prolonged US-China tariff dispute, with attention also turning to the fourth-quarter corporate earnings season, according to a Reuters report.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 per cent in its third straight day of declines