Meanwhile, the RailTel Corporation IPO has been subscribed 19.5 times thus far
The benchmark indices shed more than half a per cent for the second consecutive day, amid a volatile trading session, dragged by selling pressure in private sector banking and auto shares. The BSE index gyrated in an intra-day range of more than 700 points between a high of 51,903.95 and a low of 51,186.68 before ending at 51,324.69, weaker by 379.14 points or 0.73 per cent. The Nifty also swung between an intra-day high of 15,250.75 and a low of 15,078.05 before closing at 15,118.95, down 89.95 points or 0.59 per cent.
Meanwhile, the rupee pared its initial losses to settle higher by 9 paise at 72.65 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday following losses in the American currency in the global markets.
Financial stocks faced immense selling pressure during the day. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HDFC lost between 1 per cent and 2 per cent each on the BSE. In the auto space, M&M, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp lost 1-2 per cent each on the BSE.
On the other hand, stocks of oil marketing companies witnessed buying on the back of surging crude oil prices. ONGC soared by 8 per cent, while BPCL, HPCL and IOC added 4-6 per cent each on the BSE.
In the larger stock universe, shares of natural gas producers and suppliers rallied a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government is committed to bring natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Gujarat State Petronet rose 13 per cent, Indraprastha Gas rose 8 per cent, GAIL India climbed 7 per cent, ONGC advanced 6 per cent and Petronet LNG gained 3 per cent. The index of oil & gas shares on the BSE – S&P BSE Oil & Gas index was top sectoral gainer, the index climbed as much as 636 points or 4.25 per cent.
State-run banking shares also rallied for third day in a row, led by Indian Overseas Bank’s 20 per cent gain. Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India and Uco Bank also rallied 8-19 per cent each. These PSU banking stocks have been rallying on privatisation buzz.
On the IPO front, RailTel Corporation IPO has been subscribed 19.5 times thus far. The Rs 819-crore offer has received bids for 119.3 crore equity shares against IPO size of over 6.11 crore shares, the subscription data available on the exchanges showed. The IPO will be closed for bidding at 5:00 pm this evening.
The BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 3,125 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,641 advancing stocks as against 1,329 declines.
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