Closing Bell: Markets end at record closing high; Sensex up 623 points, Nifty at 11,844 ; banking, auto stocks lead gains

Closing Bell: Sensex ends 623 points higher, Nifty up 1.5% at 11,844 ; banking, auto stocks lead gains##Closing Bell: Sensex ends 623 points higher, Nifty up 1.5% at 11,844 ; banking, auto stocks lead gains

Indian shares ended higher on Friday, up over 3 percent for the week, boosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in the general election with financials leading gains. The Sensex settled 623 points higher at 39,435, while the Nifty50 added 187 points to end at 11,844. Among broader markets, both Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices rose 2.2 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.  ICICI Bank, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, and Zee were among the major gainers on the Nifty50, whereas Tech Mahindra, NTPC, TCS, ONGC, and HCL Tech led the losses. All sectoral indices ended the day on a positive note with banking and realty sectors leading. Nifty PSU Bank index gained the most, up nearly 5.6 percent followed by Nifty Realty (up 4.4 percent), Nifty Metal (up 3 percent), and Nifty Auto (up 3 percent). Nifty Bank and Nifty Pvt Bank indices also rose over 2.5 percent each.

Q4 Earnings: Ashok Leyland reports net profit of Rs 653 crore in Q4 against CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 700 crore##Q4 Earnings: Ashok Leyland reports net profit of Rs 653 crore in Q4 against CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 700 crore

Q4 Earnings: JSW Steel reports consolidated net profit of Rs 1,523 crore##Q4 Earnings: JSW Steel reports consolidated net profit of Rs 1,523 crore

HDFC sold 6.10% stake in Gruh Finance on March 28-May 24 to meet RBI conditions for Bandhan Bank merger##HDFC sold 6.10% stake in Gruh Finance on March 28-May 24 to meet RBI conditions for Bandhan Bank merger

Ashok Leyland jumps 6% ahead of March quarter earnings##Ashok Leyland jumps 6% ahead of March quarter earnings

Ashok Leyland shares rallied more than 6 percent in intraday trade ahead of its March quarter earnings to be announced later today. The country's second largest commercial vehicle maker is expected to report a 4.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in profit at Rs 700 crore, but revenue may fall 0.2 percent to Rs 8,750 crore, according to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates.

Economic slowdown not drastic enough for immediate government action, says Credit Suisse##Economic slowdown not drastic enough for immediate government action, says Credit Suisse

Neelkanth Mishra, managing director and India equity strategist, Credit Suisse in an interview with CNBC-TV18 shared his views on the medium term, long-term and what the big mandate for the BJP means for the stocks and the economy. Talking about immediate priorities of the government from an economic angle, Mishra said the economic slowdown is not drastic enough for the government to take action and with the limited fiscal space that exists, it may not be possible for the government to take any drastic action to revive growth in the economy. “In the early stages, the new government could accelerate the PSU bank consolidation, introduce direct tax reforms but these are not things that would change earnings in the next 12 months,“ said Mishra. READ MORE

UK PM Theresa May announces resignation##UK PM Theresa May announces resignation

UK PM Theresa May will resign as UK PM effective June 7. The process to elect new PM will begin in a few weeks.  I regret that I could not deliver Brexit, May said.

HPCL, BPCL, IOC rally up to 5% as oil stares at biggest weekly loss in 2019##HPCL, BPCL, IOC rally up to 5% as oil stares at biggest weekly loss in 2019

The Energy Index is trading in the green with state-owned oil marketing companies rallying as much as 5 percent. The share price of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation jumped 5 percent intraday on May 24, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation gained 1.5 percent each. Oil prices recouped more than 1 percent on May 24 but were on track for their biggest weekly loss this year after swelling inventories and jitters over an economic slowdown led to big falls earlier in the week.

Unichem Lab spikes more than 6% from day's low after it reports its Q4 earnings##Unichem Lab spikes more than 6% from day's low after it reports its Q4 earnings

TCS overtakes DXC Technology to becomes world's third largest IT company##TCS overtakes DXC Technology to becomes world's third largest IT company

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has now become the world’s third largest IT company by way of revenue. The Mumbai-based tech company has overtaken US major DXC Technology. FY19 performance of TCS is slightly ahead of DXC and the Indian tech giant is far more profitable than it U peer. IBM is the number one IT company, followed by Accenture. TCS' consolidated net profit stood at Rs 31,562 crore, while its revenue was at Rs 1.46 lakh crore in the last financial year.

See two rate cuts by RBI going ahead, says Deutsche Bank

BofAML expects 100 bps rate cut by RBI in 2019, recapitalisation of PSU Banks##BofAML expects 100 bps rate cut by RBI in 2019, recapitalisation of PSU Banks

With Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) set to form government at the centre, Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofAML) said it expects a cut in lending rates, increasing liquidity stimulus, and expansion in GDP (gross domestic product). The investment bank estimated a 35 basis points (bps) cut in repo rate on June 6 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) to support recovery, pull down yields and provide room for further rate cuts in 2019. "A 100 bps cut in 2019 with May inflation tracking a low 3.3 percent," it said. READ MORE

Indian equities continue to move higher; banking Index outperforms, up 2%##Indian equities continue to move higher; banking Index outperforms, up 2%