In the 30-stock Sensex, 26 stocks traded in the green, while only 4 stocks were in the red.
Reliance, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Nestle and Tech Mahindra were among the biggest gainers with an increase of up to 3.27 percent
The domestic share price opened higher on Friday, with the BSE Sensex rising about 702 points, or 1.21 percent, to 58,662.53 and the NSE Nifty rising nearly 200 points, or 1.17 percent, to 17,280.40 in early trading. The rupee also appreciated by 24 paise to 82.10 against the US dollar in early trading.
In the 30-stock Sensex, 26 stocks traded in the green, while only 4 stocks were in the red. Reliance, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Nestle and Tech Mahindra were among the biggest gainers with gains of up to 3.27 percent. However, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, ITC and Bajaj Finance were in the red, up to 0.53 percent.
Broader markets also extended the rally, with the S&P BSE MidCap rising 241.73 points, or 1.01 percent, to 24,079.41, and the S&P SmallCap jumping 404.51 points, or 1.52 percent, at 27,003.23.
UK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “There are signs that global equity markets, led by the US parent market, are overcoming fears of contagion from banks. The fact that there have been no more bank failures or major stress in the system is good news for the stock markets. Convenient valuations are now reasonable and this has prompted FIIs to become buyers over the past two days.”
He added that the market is oversold and this could lead to short covering and a tactical rally in the near term. But a sustained rally is unlikely as FIIs will once again become sellers at higher levels. “We will witness a lot of data/news driven market activity in the coming days. Auto sales figures on April 1, MPC decision on interest rates on April 6 and Q4 results as of April 13 will trigger a lot of movement in stock prices.”
Domestic stock markets were closed on Thursday due to ‘Ram Navami’. On Wednesday, however, the benchmark Sensex was up 346 points, while Nifty moved closer to the 17,100 level on Wednesday in volatile trading driven by foreign fund inflows and firm trends in global markets.
Rupee wins 24 Paise
The rupee also appreciated by 24 paise to 82.10 against the US dollar in early trading.
Gains in the local stock market and US dollar weakness in early Asian trading also boosted sentiment in the rupee.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened higher at 82.12 and remained in the green in early trading. It moved within a range of 82.16 to 82.10 in early deals.
The rupee closed 18 paise lower at 82.34 to the dollar on Wednesday. The forex market was closed for Ram Navami on Thursday.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, head (treasury) at Finrex Treasury Advisors, said: “The dollar index fell to 102.14 levels, and Asian currencies gained against dollar risk on sentiments that prevailed in the market. The Dow Jones had risen overnight and SGX nifty had also risen this morning as markets emerged from the banking crisis spawned by SVB and Credit Suisse banks. The yen fell below 133 levels against the US dollar, while the euro rose as high as 1.0926 levels, preserving risky sentiment in the market.”
He added that the rupee opened stronger this morning as IT companies hedged their risks due to the fiscal year end and could move above 82.
Rahul Kalantri, Vice President (commodities) of Mehta Equities, said: “According to the daily technical chart, we saw that the pair is trading below its trendline support level of 82.50 and the RSI is moving below the 50 levels. Looking at the technical setup, MACD is showing a negative divergence and the pair faces steep resistance at higher levels. The pair faces steep resistance around the 82.55-82.85 zone, while support is placed at 82.22-82.00.”
Global oil benchmark Brent oil futures fell 0.24 percent to USD 79.08 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday when they bought shares worth Rs 1,245.39 crore, according to exchange data.
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