Market closing: Sun Pharma, Hero Moto lose as fertiliser stocks shine

Markets ended the day on a positive note, with Nifty50 inching up 0.22% to close at 23,567 points, and Sensex closing at 77,478.93, up by 0.18%. Nifty reached an intraday high of 23,624 points, and a low of 23,442.60 points.

Except for Nifty auto, pharma and PSU bank, which closed in red, all major sectoral indices were trading in green. Hero MotoCorp (down by 2.40%), Mahindra and Mahindra (down by 2.04%) and Sun Pharma (down by 1.80%) were amongst the biggest losers during the day's trade. On the other hand, Hindalco (up by 2.34%), Grasim (up by 2.2%) and BPCL (up by 1.82%), were amidst the biggest gainers of the day.

Notably, Sun Pharma had received a warning letter from the USFDA for violating manufacturing practices in their Dadra unit. At the time of market close, the stock was trading at Rs 1,477. Amongst the 2,768 stocks traded during the day, 1,737 saw advances, while 943 saw a decline. 188 stocks hit their 52-week high and 8 stocks hit their yearly low. 138 stocks hit the upper circuit, or maximum permissible price limit in a session, and 34 stocks hit the lower circuit during the day’s trade.

As per Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd, “domestic benchmark index, Nifty opened on a strong tone, consolidated within a narrow range, and ended the day on a positive note. However, the index has managed to close above 23,500 levels, indicating strength. As long as the index holds 23,330 levels, it may test 23,800–24,000 levels in the short term. Thus, a buy-on-dips strategy should be used in the Nifty, with support at 23,330”.

On the BSE, MapMyIndia, RCF, NFL and Chambal Fertilisers emerged as the day’s gainers. Notably, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the company, adding 20% to the stock during the day. Shares of fertiliser companies like RCF and Chambal fertilisers also spiked during the day, pumped by reports of proposal to remove Goods and Service Tax (GST) on fertilisers. The final decision will be taken by the GST council on 22nd June.

According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, “the benchmark indices continued range bound activity; the Nifty ended 51 points higher while the Sensex was up by 141 points. Among Sectors, Reality index outperformed and rallied over 2% whereas Pharma and Auto indices witnessed intraday profit booking at higher levels".
"Technically, after a muted opening the entire day, the market hovered between 23,450 to 23620 (NSE) and 77,100-77,600 levels on BSE. From the last couple of days the market witnessed narrow range activity which indicates indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears", he noted.