Stock market live: Bajaj Finance, Manappuram Finance, UPL hit 52-week high today

NIFTY and SENSEX are on the run this week. The benchmark indices rose nearly 4% each since Monday amid upbeat global clues and ease in the foreign investor's selloff.

As of 2:00 pm, the NIFTY50 index jumped 144 points, or 0.62%, to 23,335. The BSE SENSEX also gained 447 points, or 0.59%, to 76,795. As many as 30 stocks hit their 52-week highs on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) as the broader markets rallied for a fifth day in a row on Friday.

India’s volatility index, or India VIX, was flat at 12.6 on Friday. Most of the sectoral indices were trading in the green. NIFTY Oil & Gas and NIFTY Media are among top gainers, while NIFTY Metal and NIFTY FMCG were trading marginally lower in today’s trading session.

Bajaj Finance (52-week high: ₹9,089)

Shares of Bajaj Finance Ltd jumped as much as 4.7% to hit their 52-week high of ₹9,089 apiece on the NSE on Friday. The stock is up over 6% in the past month and almost 33% in the last one year.

Bajaj Finance has announced that Anup Kumar Saha, who currently serves as the deputy managing director, will assume the role of managing director starting April 1, 2025. His term will run until March 31, 2028. Rajeev Jain, who has led the company for several years, will be re-designated as vice chairman for a three-year period.

Manappuram Finance (52-week high: ₹247.60)

Global private investment firm Bain Capital has announced entering into definitive agreements to acquire joint control in Manappuram Finance. As part of the deal, Bain Capital will invest ₹4,385 crore to acquire an 18% stake in Manappuram Finance on a fully diluted basis via preferential allotment of equity and warrants at a price of ₹236 per share.

Shree Cement (52-week high: ₹29,320)

Shares of Shree Cement Ltd advanced as much as 2.2% to hit their 52-week high of ₹29,250 apiece on the NSE on Friday. The stock is up almost 15% in the last one year.

Experts predict a positive trend for Shree Cement as more than half of its capacity is currently located in the Northern region of India. Estimates show that the northern market is expected to have favourable supply-demand dynamics over FY25 to FY27, which should benefit Shree Cement significantly compared with its peers.

UPL Ltd (52-week high: ₹667.80)

Shares of UPL Ltd rose as much as 2.6% to hit their 52-week high of ₹663.6 apiece on the NSE on Friday. The stock has jumped almost 9% in the past five trading sessions and is up 51% in the last one year.

A recent research report has highlighted that India’s specialty chemicals sector is showing early signs of recovery in Q4FY25. The report said that signs of price recovery can be seen, both locally and globally, despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds. Besides, stable input costs and softening crude prices have also provided some relief to the sector, the report added.