Mumbai | Market benchmark Sensex on Friday rose over 196 points to end at 36,064 and also posted its second straight weekly gains amid signs of easing tensions between India and Pakistan.
The key BSE index also snapped its three-session losing run after the March derivatives series got off to a strong start coupled with uninterrupted foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share Sensex opened positive and rallied to the session’s high of 36,140.67 on widespread buying by participants.
However, profit-booking in select counters trimmed the gains as the gauge settled 196.37 points, or 0.55 per cent, higher at 36,063.81. It had lost over 346 points in the previous three sessions due to geo-political tensions between India and Pakistan.
The NSE Nifty, after hitting a high of 10,877.90, closed at 10,863.50, up 71 points, or 0.66 per cent. Intra-day, it fell to a low of 10,823.10.
For the week, the BSE Sensex rose 192.33 points, or 0.57 per cent, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 71.35 points, or 0.69 per cent. This was the second straight weekly gains for the index.
Investor sentiment revived amid signs of easing geopolitical tensions after Pakistan Thursday said it will release captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot as a “first step” to open negotiations with India.
Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday.
It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 personnel of the paramilitary force.
“Relative calm has returned to markets as cross-border tensions have eased and robust trends are coming visible in the data on credit growth, manufacturing activity, new orders and employment. The market will look past the weak GDP print and focus on the high frequency indicators which are suggesting that the Indian economy is demonstrating signs of a pickup in growth,” Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, said.
Investors indulged in creating new positions following the beginning of the March futures and options (F&O) series that led to the rally in the market.
Financial, capital goods, IT, power and oil and gas sector stocks hogged the limelight and helped indices to reclaim their key level.
IndusInd Bank emerged top performers among Sensex constituents by surging 3.04 per cent, followed by Yes Bank 2.68 per cent.
Other prominent gainers included Vedanta Ltd, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, Infosys, HDFC Ltd, L&T, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC Ltd, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, PowerGrid, M&M, HUL, ONGC and HDFC Bank, rising up to 2.24 per cent.
Maruti Suzuki rose 1.48 per cent even as the country’s largest car maker reported a marginal decline in total sales in February.
Bajaj Auto fell 1.16 per cent after the company on Friday reported a 10 per cent increase in total sales in February.
Bharti Airtel, Asian Paint and RIL also ended in the red.
All the BSE sectoral indices ended in the green with infrastructure climbing the most by 1.99 per cent, PSU 1.85 per cent, metal 1.57 per cent, capital goods 1.37 per cent, power 1.10 per cent, bankex 0.98 per cent, healthcare 0.92 per cent, IT 0.69 per cent, tech 0.58 per cent, FMCG 0.51 per cent and realty 0.01 per cent.
The broader markets too displayed a firm trend as the BSE small-cap index surged 2.13 per cent and the mid-caps gained 1.29 per cent.
Markets will remain closed on Monday on account of “Mahashivratri”.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 3,210.6 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,240.62 crore on Thursday, provisional data showed.
On the macro-economic front, however, traders looked somewhat hesitant after country’s economic growth slowed down to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December period, analysts said.
Economic growth estimate for the current fiscal year ending March 31 has been revised downwards to 7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.2 per cent. This is the lowest growth in the last five years.
The rupee depreciating by 27 paise to 70.99 against the dollar (intra-day) at the forex market and the international benchmark Brent crude surging to USD 66.55 per barrel, capped gains to some extent.
Elsewhere, in rest of Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rallied 1.81 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.02 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.63 per cent and Straits Times edged up 0.20 per cent.
Among European markets, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.15 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 advanced 0.73 per cent in their early deals. London’s FTSE too up by 0.66 per cent.
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