Sensex ends 3-day losing streak, rises 228 points
1,322 scrips advanced out of 2,583 stocks traded on BSE
Snapping its three-session falling streak, market benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded 228 points on Friday on expectations of FPI (foreign portfolio investor) tax rollback and some measures by the government to boost growth.
The 30-share index, which had dropped over 350 points in opening trade, reversed course following an announcement that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address a presser after market hours.
This fuelled speculations that the government would unveil measures to support the sagging economy and address tax concerns of market participants, traders said.
The BSE Sensex closed higher by 228.23 pts or 0.63% at 36,701.16. The broader NSE Nifty rose by 88 points or 0.82% to settle at 10,829.35, with 41 of its 50 constituents closing with gains.
However, both the key indices finished with losses for the week.
The Sensex lost 649.17 points, or 1.74%, while the Nifty shed 218.45 points, or 1.98%, during the week.
Vedanta was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Friday, spurting 6.55%. It was followed by Yes Bank (up 5.24%), ONGC (4.66%) and Mahindra and Mahindra (4.26%).
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries advanced by 2.36% and HDFC by 2.09%, aiding the recovery.
IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser among Sensex scrips, declining by 1.9%.
“Market reversed from six months low in expectation of supportive policies from the gov ernment. Change in scrappage policy to revive auto demand and roll back surcharges on FPIs can change the current sentiment of the market.
“Investors are having a muted expectation on Q1FY20 GDP data, it is a need of the hour to improve the business confidence of the country,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
Auto stocks recovered from losses after transport minister Nitin Gadkari clarified that there was no proposal to impose a deadline for the rollout of electric vehicles.
M&M rose by 4.26%, Tata Motors by 3.25% and Hero MotoCorp by 0.61%.
Maruti Suzuki, which traded in the red for the major part of the day, wiped out losses to end higher by 0.69%. The auto major announced recall of 40,618 units of WagonR to rectify issues with fuel hose mechanism.
IT major TCS jumped 1.47%, while Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra rose up to 0.75% as the rupee traded near the 72-level. SBI, which announced a cut in its term deposit rates, rose by 1.01%. FMCG stocks ITC and HUL dropped up to 1.71%, limiting the index gains.
Among other stocks, Future Retail tanked 5.67% after it announced that Amazon will buy 49% stake in a promoter group firm Future Coupons.
BSE MidCap rose by 0.93% to 13,080.60, while BSE SmallCap rose by 0.55% or 66.68 points to 12,119.43.
BSE Metal was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices, rising by 3.49%. Oil and gas gained 3.35%, teck 1.16% and basic materials 2.05%.
Only three sectoral indices ended in the red—BSE FMCG (0.83%), bankex (0.31%) and capital goods (0.19%).
The market breadth was positive as 1,322 scrips advanced out of 2,583 stocks traded on BSE. As many as 1,128 stocks declined.
AUTO STOCKS BOUNCED
BACK AFTER GADKARI CLARIFIED THAT THERE WAS NO PROPOSAL TO IMPOSE A DEADLINE FOR THE ROLLOUT OF EVS