Domestic shares advanced for second straight session on Friday, on broad-based buying support. Firmness in private banks boosted key indices higher.

The barometer BSE S&P Sensex rose 226.79 points or 0.55% to 41,613.19. The Nifty 50 index added 67.90 points or 0.56% to 12,248.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.50%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1390 shares rose and 1140 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.575% at 16:45 IST compared with 6.596% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.305, compared with its close of 71.26 during the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2020 settlement fell 34 cents to $61.70 a barrel. The contract fell 1.85% to settle at $62.04 a barrel during the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

European shares advanced while most Asian markets ended higher on Friday. Investors continued to monitor the situation surrounding a fast-spreading coronavirus that was first diagnosed less than a month ago. The total number of coronavirus cases in China jumped to 830, Chinese state media reported on Friday. There are at least 14 known cases outside mainland China, bringing the cases worldwide to 844.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declined to designate the ongoing outbreak of a novel virus in China a global health emergency, saying that, for now, health officials have enough resources to combat the outbreak there and in other countries and that the agency does not need the additional authorities that come from such a declaration.

Major markets across the region such as China and South Korea were closed on Friday ahead of the Lunar New Year that starts on Saturday.

Back in Europe, the euro and German bund yields sank on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB)'s President Christine Lagarde struck a slightly more dovish tone than markets were expecting in a press conference, after the ECB left monetary policy unchanged at its first meeting of 2020.

In US, stocks ended mixed on Thursday, recovering from early losses, as investors digested earnings reports and took heart from the WHO's decision.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty Bank index rose 0.77% to 31,241.75, extending Thursday's 0.99% rise.

Among private banks, Axis Bank (up 2.01%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.98%), Federal Bank (up 1.59%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.18%) advanced.

Yes Bank jumped 4.4% to Rs 42.75, extending yesterday's 6.5% rise triggered by State Bank of India chairman saying Yes Bank 'will not be allowed to fail'.

"Yes Bank is a significant player in the market with an almost $40 billion balance sheet," State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar told the media in Davos. "I have a feeling that it will not be allowed to fail," he added. Kumar said it won't be good for India's economy as a whole if Yes Bank were to fail. "Because a bank of that size, if it is allowed to fail, there's a problem,” he said. “And I am sure that some solutions will emerge."

HDFC Bank (down 0.07%), City Union Bank (down 0.25%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.21%) and RBL Bank (down 2.96%) declined.

Among state-run banks, Central Bank (up 1.58%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.89%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.84%) and State Bank of India (up 0.25%) rose.

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.97% to 2,796.20, outperforming all other sectoral indices on the NSE.

JSPL (up 5.06%), Hindustan Copper (up 3.67%), SAIL (up 1.39%), Vedanta (up 1.07%), NALCO (up 0.87%), Tata Steel (up 0.6%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.46%) advanced.

JSW Steel rose 1.67%. The firm will announce Q3 earnings today, 24 January 2020.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Info Edge (India) jumped 4.66% after the company set up an Alternative Investment Fund named Info Edge Venture Fund ("IEVF"). The objective of the fund is to invest in tech and tech-enabled entities that provide technology to create market and distribute innovative products and services that benefit consumers at large. The company has entered into a contribution agreement to invest about Rs 100 crore in IE Venture Fund I, a scheme of aforesaid IEVF.

IT major Infosys declined 0.20% after media reports suggested that the market regulator Sebi could order a forensic audit into its books. The said forensic audit comes in the wake of a whistleblower complaint which alleged that the company's chief executive officer Salil Parekh and the chief financial officer Nilanjan Roy indulged in "unnethical practices" to boost revenue and profits. The whistleblower complaint, which was also sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 30 September, became public on 21 October 2019. The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) decision comes after Infosys's internal audit committee on 10 January 2020 concluded that the charges made by the whistleblowers were substantially without merit.

Adani Gas rose 1.42% to 175.30. The stock bounced after falling as much as 14.38% in early trade today after the media reported that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has sent show cause notice to the company for non disclosure of information. PNGRB may seek to cancel Adani Gas licences and also levy Rs 400 crore penalty, reports added.

Gail (India) fell 0.08% after the company filed an application with Supreme Court seeking clarification on the provisional assessment orders received from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT).

Q3 Earnings:

Ultratech Cement rose 2.47%. On consolidated basis, the cement major's net profit jumped 79.80% to Rs 712 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 396 crore reported in Q3 December 2018. Net sales declined 1.15% to Rs 10,176 crore on YoY basis. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 997.43 crore in Q3 December 2019, up by 68.89% from Rs 590.59 crore in Q3 December 2018.

In its outlook, the company said that signs of revival were visible in some markets during the latter part of Q3FY20. This, together with the government's firm commitment to revive the economy and the thrust on infrastructure spending augur well for the growth of cement demand.

HDFC Life Insurance Company fell 1.42%. Consolidated net profit rose 2.66% to Rs 251.09 crore on a 13.85% increase in net premium income to Rs 7,854.98 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2019. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) rose 3.53% to Rs 264.46 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 255.43 crore in Q3 December 2018

PNB Housing Finance tanked 11.02%. On a consolidated basis, the NBFC's net profit fell 21.8% to Rs 237.02 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 302.97 posted in Q3 December 2018. Net sales declined 0.2% to Rs 2,074.79 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 2,078.46 crore reported in Q3 December 2018.

EIH Associated Hotels rose 3.55%. On standalone basis, the company reported a 17.5% rise in net profit to Rs 20.37 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 17.33 crore reported in Q3 December 2018. Net sales for the quarter rose 1.2% to Rs 85.82 crore on YoY basis. Profit before tax stood at Rs 28.67 crore in Q3 December 2019, up by 6.6% from Rs 26.90 crore in Q3 December 2018.

Zensar Technologies slumped 12.17% after consolidated net profit fell 50.50% to Rs 39.53 crore on 4.82% decline in net sales to Rs 1,020.59 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q2 September 2019. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, consolidated net profit fell 28.50% while net sales declined 1.44%. The result was declared post market hours yesterday, 23 January 2020.