Markets close higher, Mahanagar Gas' Q3 profits up by 16% YoY

Nifty 50 closed at 15137.80 (28.5, 0.2%) , BSE Sensex closed at 51309.39 (-19.7, -0.0%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 12473.05 (38.9, 0.3%)

Market breadth is in the red. Of the 1706 stocks traded today, 755 were gainers and 891 were losers.

Mahanagar Gas reports a net profit of Rs 217.2 crore, a rise of 16.7% YoY, and net sales of Rs 666.4 crore, a fall of 18.6% against the year-ago period.
IRB Infrastructure Developers will raise Rs 2,200 crore through the issue of non-convertible debentures for the repayment of existing loans and meeting capital expenditure requirements.
Polyplex Corporation is trading with volume 14 times its weekly average volume, Ircon International, Max Financial Services, and TV Today Network are trading with volume 4 times the weekly average.
Max Ventures & Industries is rising as its subsidiary Max Estates leases its Noida office complex to Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
F&O contracts of Mphasis, Granules India, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, City Union Bank, Gujarat Gas, and L&T Technology Services will be available for trading from February 26.
Burger King India reports a net loss of Rs 29 crore in Q3, against a net loss of Rs 21.7 crore in the year-ago period with revenue down by 28% YoY to Rs 163.2 crore.
HDFC Securities upgrades its rating on Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail from 'Hold' to 'Buy' due to a steady recovery in gross margins and decreasing leverage.
Polyplex Corporation reports a net profit of Rs 53 crore, a fall of 9.4% YoY with revenues of Rs 336.6 crore, a rise of 5.2% YoY. The board declares a dividend of Rs 100 per share with a record date of February 19.
HDFC Securities maintains a 'Sell' rating on Avenue Supermarts, the operator of DMART with a target price at a downside of 26% against the market price.
Nifty Realty is rising led by strong gains in DLF, Godrej Properties, Sunteck Realty, and Oberoi Realty.
Tata Steel reports a net profit of Rs 3,990 crore for Q3FY21, against a net loss of Rs 1,228 crore in the year-ago period, with revenue up by 11% YoY to Rs 39,594 crore.
Nifty 50 was trading at 15083.05 (-26.3, -0.2%) , BSE Sensex was trading at 51378.42 (49.3, 0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 12421.30 (-12.9, -0.1%)
Market breadth is highly positive. Of the 1550 stocks traded today, 1013 showed gains, and 454 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. (174.15, 7.73%), Muthoot Finance Ltd. (1267.90, 6.85%) and Whirlpool of India Ltd. (2472.60, 5.96%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Aarti Industries Ltd. (1203.25, -2.54%), Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd. (319.15, -2.46%) and Indus Towers Ltd. (247.60, -2.40%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

19 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included TTK Prestige Ltd. (6933.25, 17.22%), Ircon International Ltd. (103.35, 11.37%) and Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. (174.15, 7.73%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Varroc Engineering Ltd. (419.80, -7.69%), Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. (314.20, -6.17%) and Rites Ltd. (245.50, -3.65%).

Max Financial Services Ltd. (776.90, 5.26%) was trading at 6.8 times of weekly average. Linde India Ltd. (1098.95, 5.31%) and TV Today Network Ltd. (248.45, 2.73%) were trading with volumes 6.8 and 6.8 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

38 stocks made 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Bajaj Finserv Ltd. (10227.95, 2.88%), Blue Dart Express Ltd. (4713.40, 4.19%) and Carborundum Universal Ltd. (525.00, -0.32%).

3 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Ircon International Ltd. (103.35, 11.37%) and CESC Ltd. (617.60, 1.64%). 13 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. (314.20, -6.17%) and Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. (45.10, -4.75%).