Stock Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex ends 187 pts lower, Nifty50 slides below 18,150 as market halts 2-day winning run; Asian Paints drops after results

Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra top Sensex gainers

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro are also among the stocks that rise the most among the 10 gainers in the 30-scrip basket.

On the flipside, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, IndusInd, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech and Nestle are the top laggards. (Read more on the closing bell)

Closng Bell | Sensex down 187 pts at 60,858, Nifty below 18,150 as market halts two-day winning run

Both headline indices finish the day 0.3 per cent lower. The 30-scrip index ends at 60,858.4, down 187.3 points from its previous close, and the Nifty50 settles at 18,107.9, down 57.5 points from its previous close. 

Here's how the main gauges fared through the day: 

Sensex

Nifty50

Persistent, Mahindra Lifespace, Prism Johnson top BSE 500 gainers

Persistent, Mahindra Lifespace, Prism Johnson, Swan Energy and Capri Global Capital -- rising 4-7 per cent each -- are rising the most among the 210 gainers in the BSE 500 universe less than 15 minutes from the closing bell. 

On the other hand, Rallis, Adani Green, Torrent Power, Alok Industries and Praj are the top laggards in the broadest index on the bourse.

Asian Paints Results | Decorative business volume flat due to high price hike base a year ago, says CEO

"The extended monsoon in October also affected retailing in the peak festival season, though demand picked up in November and December leading to double-digit growth for the decorative business in December," said Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO, Asian Paints. 

Overall, on a nine-month basis, the decorative business continued to grow at healthy double-digit volume and value growth rates with strong CAGRs, he highlighted.

The operating margin improved strongly compared with the previous quarter and the quarter ended December 2021 driven by deflation in some of the raw material prices and continued work on  operational efficiencies across businesses, Syngle said. 

The international business was a mixed bag with good growth in the Middle East and Africa, whereas the South Asia market, especially Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, got severely impacted by the adverse forex and macroeconomic conditions, he added. (Read more on Asian Paints results)

Asian Paints Results | Net profit rises 6% to Rs 1,073 crore, revenue up 2% at Rs 8,607.5 crore  

Asian Paints -- India's largest paint company by sales as well as market value -- reports a net profit of Rs 1,072.7 crore for the October-December period, up 5.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period a year ago. 

Its revenue increased 1.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 8,607.5 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

Asian Paints shares slip into the red after the earnings announcement. 

Buy Nifty futures, target 18,300: Arpit Beriwal 

Arpit Beriwal of Motilal Oswal Financial Services suggests going long on Nifty futures at 18,100 for a target of 18,250-18,300 with a stop loss at 18,000.  

For the banking index futures, he has a 'buy' at 42,300 for a target of 42,500-42,650. His stop loss for the Nifty Bank is placed at 42,000. 

Buy Vedanta for a taget of Rs 350: Motilal Oswal's Arpit Beriwal   

Arpit Beriwal of Motilal Oswal Financial Services is bullish on Vedanta. "We have been recommending the metal pack for a long term... The index is near a record high," he tells Zee Business.  

Speaking on the chart structure of Vedanta, Beriwal says the stock has been making higher lows for the past six months and looks poised for an upmove. 

He suggests buying Vedanta shares for a target of Rs 350 with a stop loss at Rs 315. "A close above Rs 325 will lead to an immediate upside of 5-7 per cent," he says.

Buy Chambal Fertilisers, Hindustan Copper: Nirmal Bang's Vikas Salunkhe

Vikas Salunkhe of Nirmal Bang Securities shares two recommendations on Zee Business: 

• Buy Chambal Fertilisers for a target of Rs 322 with a stop loss at Rs 302
• Buy Hindustan Copper for a target of Rs 142 with a stop loss at Rs 126

Sensex down 150 points, off day's low

HDFC twins, Reliance, Tata Steel help Sensex recover most of day's losses

Stock Ideas | Star Health, Apollo Hospitals, other stocks analysts recommend for big gains

Brokerages see upside potential of as high as 35 per cent in five stocks. (Check out the full list here)

Stock Idea | Buy Pricol, target Rs 250: Himanshu Gupta

In an interaction with Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, Himanshu Gupta of Globe Capital Markets suggests buying Pricol for targets of Rs 235 and Rs 250 with a stop loss at Rs 185.

Pricol shares have given a return of 47 per cent in the past six months. 

Financial, IT, FMCG, metal stocks drag Nifty50

Losses in Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HUL, TCS, ICICI Bank, Adani Enterprises and Reliance Industries are among the biggest drags on the 50-scrip benchmark index one hour into the opening bell.

Here's what the Nifty50 heatmap looks like:

Investment Idea | Buy Godawari Power and Ispat, target Rs 500: Vikas Sethi  

In an interaction with Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, Vikas Sethi of Sethi Finmart suggests going long on Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd (GPIL) for 9-12 months. 

Sethi is bullish on the metal space, and highlights that the company has strong fundamentals with a decent dividend yield. GPIL is available at a cheap valuation given how metals are performing, Sethi adds. 

Godawari Power shares have rewarded investors with a return of 42.8 per cent in the past six months, a period in which the Sensex index has risen 10.9 per cent. 

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC top Sensex gainers

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, UltraTech, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, L&T, Nestle and TCS are the worst hit among the 22 laggards in the Sensex basket.

Sensex falls over 250 points, Nifty50 cracks below 18,100

Both headline indices fall as much as 0.5 per cent in the first 20 minutes of trade. The 30-scrip index drops 277.7 points to hit 60,768 on the downside at the weakest level of the day so far, and the Nifty50 slips to as low as 18,079.3, down 86.1 points from its previous close. 

Here's how the Sensex's intraday chart looks like at this hour:  

Pre-Open Market | Sensex down 126 points, Nifty50 at 18,120

In the pre-opening session, the Sensex is down 125.7 points or 0.2 per cent at 60,920 and the Nifty50 at 18,119.8, down 45.6 points or 0.3 per cent from its previous close.  

LKP Securities retains 'buy' call on IndusInd Bank after lender's results

According to the brokerage, IndusInd Bank's core operating performance remains healthy, and a higher contingent buffer is likely to safeguard it from credit disruption from various restructure schemes.

LKP has a 'buy' rating on the IndusInd stock with a target price of Rs 1,473.

Anil Singhvi Strategy For January 19: Key market triggers, important support levels for Nifty50, Nifty Bank today

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi expects the Nifty50 benchmark to find support at 18,000-18,050, below which, he sees a strong buy zone for the index in the 17,900-17,950 band. For the Nifty50, Anil Singhvi expects resitance to come in at 18,150-18,200, above which, he sees a strong sell zone at 18,250-18,300 levels. 

For the Nifty Bank -- whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank, he sees support at 42,025-42,125 levels, and a strong buy zone in the 41,725-41,875 band. 

Read more on how Anil Singhvi views the market today

Traders' Diary: Buy, sell or hold strategy on HUL, IndusInd, Maruti, Tata Consumer, Indian Hotels, 15 other stocks today

In today's edition of Traders' Diary, the Zee Business research team shares exclusive research on 20 stocks that investors and traders can track. Check out which stocks are on analysts Ashish Chaturvedi and Kushal Gupta's radar today, and what they recommend in cash and derivative segments.

Check out the complete list of their stock ideas

S&P 500 futures, Dow Jones futures down 0.2% each

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggered their biggest daily drops in more than a month on Wednesday, following weak US macroeconomic data that fuelled recession concerns hawkish comments from Fed officials that dented investor sentiment.

Before the opening bell on Wall Street, US economic data showed retail sales and producer prices declined more than expected in December, and factory production fell more than expected.

Here's how the three main US indices fared on Jan 18:

• Dow Jones: down 1.8 per cent
• S&P 500: down 1.6 per cent
• Nasdaq Composite: down 1.2 per cent
   

Asian shares in the red amid concerns about recession, more of steep rate hikes 

Equities in other Asian markets begin the day in the red, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan trading 0.7 per cent lower at this hour.

Here's what some of the other major markets in the region look like:

• Japan's Nikkei 225: down 1.1 per cent
• China's Shanghai Composite: down 0.3 per cent
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: down 1.2 per cent
• South Korea's KOSPI: flat
• Singapore's Straits Times: flat

Brace for a gap-down start! SGX Nifty50 futures indicate a gap-down opening ahead on Dalal Street

Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures -- an early indicator of the Nifty index -- decline as much as 111 points or 0.6 per cent to 18,111 ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Strete on January 18. 

Sensex ended 390 points to 61,046 on Wednesday, Nifty50 reclaimed 18,150

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 extended gains to a second straight session on Wednesday, shrugging off mixed moves across global markets. Both headline indices held on to much of their intraday gains at the close, finishing 0.6 per cent higher.

The 30-scrip index took its gain to 953 points in two days. (Read more on the Jan 18 session)

Good morning! Welcome to Zeebiz.com's LIVE market blog where you get minute-by-minute updates on Sensex, Nifty, market commentary, market analysis, expert views, financial results, investment ideas and much more

Follow this space to know all about the latest on Dalal Street through the day. 

Happy investing!