Sensex and Nifty hit record highs for second day in a row
Sensex rose by 20.96 points or 0.03%, while Nifty went up by 28.65 points or 0.15%
MUMBAI: Benchmark Sensex and Nifty advanced further to settle at record highs for the second day in a row on Friday, helped by intense buying in index majors Reliance Industries, Wipro, and Maruti.
In a choppy and range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 20.96 points or 0.03% to settle at 62,293.64, its fresh record closing high. During the day, it jumped 175.05 points or 0.28% to 62,447.73 -- its lifetime intra-day peak.
Likewise, broader NSE Nifty went up by 28.65 points or 0.15% to end at 18,512.75, its all-time high.
The key indices had gained more than 1% on Thursday to end at record high levels. The indices have extended the winning run for the fourth day with the Sensex rising by 1,140 points or close to 2% and Nifty gaining 352 points or 2.29%. Reliance Industries emerged as the biggest gainer among the Sensex firms, rising 1.34%, followed by Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Tata Steel, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major winners. Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HCL Technologies were the major laggards.
“Markets ended flat in a sluggish trading session, as investors stayed on the sidelines due to lack of cues from the US markets, which was shut on Thursday. While most of the Asian gauges ended in the red, local benchmarks managed to eke out modest gains amid thin volumes,” said Amol Athawale, deputy vice president, technical research, Kotak Securities Ltd.
“Benchmark indices ended on a positive note amid volatility. Overall domestic markets are continuously showing strength amid global macro concerns and we believe that the Indian markets would continuously outperform global indices backed by strong corporate earnings and healthy demand,” said Mohit Nigam, fund manager and head, PMS, Hem Securities.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.77% and smallcap index jumped 0.69%.
Among sectoral indices, realty jumped 1.08%, energy (0.84%), oil & gas (0.69%), consumer discretionary (0.67%) and metal (0.58%). Fast-moving consumer goods, financial services, utilities, bankex and power were laggards.
Markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended low, while Shanghai settled in the green.
Equity exchanges in Europe were trading low in afternoon trade. Wall Street was closed for a holiday on Thursday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.21% higher at $86.37 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers as they bought shares worth ₹1,231.98 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
The rupee settled for the day 8 paise higher at 81.62 (provisional) against the American currency on Friday on broad dollar weakness and improved risk sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 81.69 and touched an intraday high of 81.44 and a low of 81.71 against the greenback. The appreciation was also helped by positive domestic equities. Foreign fund inflows also supported the rupee, said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias on weak dollar and improved risk sentiments amid expectations of a slower pace of rate hike by the US Federal Reserve,” Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, was 0.11% lower at 105.96.