Sensex and Nifty picked a higher note today.
New Delhi:
Indian stock benchmarks finished the week higher, extending gains for the second straight session on Friday, led by strong interest in auto, banking and consumer stocks. Heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) index also supported the surprising upward move.
Domestic indices reflected Asian stocks, which traded higher today, following an overnight rise on Wall Street.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 462 points or 0.88 percent to close at 52,728 today, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 143 points or 0.92 percent to settle at 15,699. Both indices rose in the same amount yesterday.
Mid and small cap stocks ended strong as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.21 percent lower and small cap 1.31 percent higher.
14 of the 15 sector meters – compiled by the National Stock Exchange – were in green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty FMCG outperformed the platform by rising 1.97 percent, 1.75%, 1.56 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Nifty IT ended 0.89 percent lower.
On a stock-specific front, M&M was the best riser as the stock rose 4.36 percent to Rs 1,072.50. Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever were also among the winners.
Overall market size was positive, with 2,396 shares moving up, while 909 falling on BSE.
“After the correction in recent weeks, equity markets ended this week with positive returns. Major key indices and most sector indices gained this week. The correction in crude oil price from the recent spike and weakening commodity prices provided some relief for the markets in recent weeks. Progress in the monsoon is an important factor to watch as a good monsoon would allay concerns about food inflation,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.
“Stock markets are expected to continue to react to news related to inflation, monetary policy and commodity price movements in the near term,” added Mr. Chouhan.
On the 30-share BSE index, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, HUL, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Nestle India, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), UltraTech Cement and Maruti were among the top winners.
By contrast, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Wipro and Sun Pharma finished in the red.
Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, also fell 0.48 percent to close at Rs 661.70.
