Summary: Indices remained buoyed on Friday, ahead of the government's meeting with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and representatives from the financial sector, which was scheduled later in the day. Sentiment was further strengthened on reports that government could approach the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to relieve the auto-industry from tax payment for three-six months along with measures to relieve real estate sector. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex soared 480 points intra-day to 37,807.5 level, while the Nifty50 zoomed 149 points to 11,181 mark. At close, the Sensex settled 255 points, or 0.68 per cent, higher at 37,582 levels lifted by gains in auto and banking counters. Maruti Suzuki, Vedanta, Bajaj Finance, and HDFC Bank were the top gainers while YES Bank, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, and ITC were the top laggards. The broader Nifty50, too, ended at 11,110 mark, up 77 points, or 0.7 per cent. Sectorally, metal, information technology (IT), pharma and public sector bank (PSBs) indices ended in the red while auto, private bank, realty, and FMCG scrips ended with gains. Nifty auto index was the top gainers, up 2 per cent, while Nifty metal index slipped 0.68 per cent. In the broader market, the S&P BSE mid-cap index ended 104 points, or 0.77 per cent, higher at 13,670 level. The S&P BSE small-cap index, on the other hand, settled 125 points, or 1 per cent, higher at 12,699 level. NBCC (India) shares tumbled 14 per cent to Rs 34 apiece, trading near the stock's five-year low price on the BSE on Friday on weak June quarter results. The state-owned construction & engineering company reported a 38 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 51 crore in the June quarter (Q1FY20), due to poor performance by real estate segment. It had a profit of Rs 83 crore in the same quarter year ago. Shares of Page Industries hit an over two-year low of Rs 17,438, down 6 per cent intra-day on the BSE on Friday, after the company reported drop in net profit for the second quarter in a row, due to lower volume growth during April-June quarter (Q1FY20). The stock was trading at its lowest level since February 6, 2018.
