Sensex, Nifty finish volatile session lower; HUL under pressure after quarterly results

Domestic equity benchmarks gave up initial gains to finish a volatile session lower on Saturday, January 20, amid selling pressure in a bunch of heavyweights including Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys. Dalal Street began the day on a positive note with strong signals from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 barometer notched its first record close in two years, but succumbed to negative territory during the session. 

The Sensex shed 259.6 points, or 0.4 per cent, to end at 71,423.7, and the Nifty50 settled at 21,571.8, down 50.6 points, or 0.2 per cent, from its previous close. 

HUL, TCS, M&M, IndusInd Bank, HCLTech, Wipro, Nestle India and JSW Steel, finishing between 1.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent lower, were the worst hit among the 30 laggards in the Nifty50 basket. On the other hand, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Hindalco and SBI, rising between 0.5 per cent and 4.1 per cent, were among the top gainers.

HUL, TCS, Reliance, Infosys and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest contributors to the fall in the market. 

The Nifty FMCG, the Nifty IT and the Nifty Pharma indices were the worst hit among stock exchange NSE's sectoral indices, closing 1.2 per cent, one per cent and 0.9 per cent lower respectively. 

On the other hand, the PSU bank index was the top gainer, finishing the day 1.9 per cent stronger—its biggest single-day rise in more than a week.

Here's how the various sectors fared at the end of the session: 

Hindustan Unilever shares remained under pressure throughout the session a day after the FMCG giant reported a weaker-than-expected set of quarterly numbers. While its volume growth, at two per cent, met analysts' estimates, its net profit for the October-December period grew 0.6 per cent and failed to excite the Street. CLSA downgraded HUL to 'underperform' from 'outperform' and reduced its target for the FMCG stock by Rs 186 to Rs 2,637.

RBL Bank shares closed 1.1 per cent higher at Rs 268.7 apiece on BSE after the private sector lender reported an 11.5 per cent year-on-year rise in quarterly net profit with 21 per cent growth in net interest income (NII). Its slippages, or new bad loans, however, increased 9.5 per cent sequentially. Citi maintained its 'sell' rating on RBL after the earnings announcement and revised its target for the stock to Rs 257 from Rs 275.

Paytm shares rose 1.3 per cent after the company reported growth of 38 per cent in quarterly revenue. Its net loss for the December quarter narrowed to Rs 222 crore from Rs 392 crore a year ago.

Broader indices Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.5 per cent and 0.2 per cent for the day respectively. The Nifty 500, the broadest index on the bourse, closed flat. 

Market breadth remained skewed in favour of the bulls at the end of the day's trade, with an advance-decline ratio of 6:5 as 2,063 scrips rose while 1,748 declined on BSE. 

The market will remain closed on Monday, January 22, the day a consecration ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Trading will resume on Tuesday. 

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