FIRST TRADE: Sensex rises over 200 pts; Nifty above 21,900; M&M up 3% after reporting Q3 results

Stock market today: The equity market on Thursday (February 15) edged higher, tracking a rebound in Asian and US peers after hotter-than-expected US inflation dragged them down in the previous session. Last seen, both indices were up over 0.25 per cent.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 201.6 points to 72,024.43, and the NSE Nifty soared 63.05 points to 21,903.1. 

"A significant feature of a bull market is its ability to bounce back from a steep fall. This was evident yesterday when Nifty bounced back by around 300 points from the lows. The heavy selling by FIIs,which was expected in response to the spike in US bond yields, didn’t impact the market since it was neutralised by DII and individual investor buying," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Dr. Vijayakumar added a significant feature of the market now is the change in leadership. Reliance has emerged as the leader of the rally and is supported by ICICI Bank and SBI. The strength of these fundamentally strong stocks augurs well for the bulls. The valuation gap between large caps and the broader market continues to be an area of concern.

Meanwhile, Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 traded over half a per cent higher. Nifty Bank was up 0.16 per cent at 45,981.25. 

BUZZING STOCKS

M&M shares were up over 3 per cent a day after the company reported Q3 results. 

Glenmark Pharma shares were up over 5 per cent after the company reported its Q3 numbers. 

NMDC shares rose over 6 per cent after the company posted good Q3 results. 

Muthoot Finance shares were up over 3 per cent after the company reported in-line Q3 results. 

Shriram Finance shares were up over 2 per cent after reports suggested that Bain Capital, Advent International, and CVC Capital may buy a stake in Shriram Housing Finance, a subsidiary of Shriram Finance.

BHEL shares were up over 2 per cent after the company received an order of an 800 MW power plant from the Haryana Government.

Conversely, Paytm shares lost over 2 per cent after the comany informed investors that the company has been receiving notices and requisitions from time to time from other authorities including the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Vedanta shares were down over 1 per cent after 2.2 per cent equity changed hands.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with the Nikkei breaching a new 34-year peak, while the dollar took a breather near a three-month high as markets assess when the Federal Reserve is likely to start its easing cycle after a run of strong economic data.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 per cent, with the IT index surging more than 2 per cent. Taiwan stocks spiked 2.6 per cent higher, with chipmaker TSMC up nearly 8 per cent.

(With inputs from agencies.) 

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