Mkts rebound 1% on buying in fincl counters; Nifty above 24K

Bullish Momentum | Stocks rally as global peers rise, sentiment improves

PTI

New Delhi

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged over 1% on Friday, propelled by buying in banking counters and a positive trend in global equities. Investor sentiment improved amid hopes of further easing in the West Asia crisis ahead of US-Iran negotiations and lower crude prices, analysts said.

After staying in the positive territory throughout the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 918.60 points or 1.20% to settle at 77,550.25. During the day, it surged 990.85 points or 1.29% to 77,622.50. A total of 3,360 stocks advanced while 945 declined and 144 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 275.50 points or 1.16% to end at 24,050.60. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 4,230.7 points or 5.77%, and the Nifty surged 1,337.5 points or 5.88%.

"The positive momentum was primarily driven by improving global sentiment amid hopes of further easing in West Asia tensions ahead of scheduled negotiations between the US and Iran. This led to cooling crude oil prices and supported risk appetite for emerging markets like India," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Additionally, sustained buying interest from domestic institutional investors and selective short covering aided the upmove, Mishra added.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were the laggards.

The BSE Small Cap Select index jumped 1.64%, and the MidCap Select index climbed 1.50%. Auto jumped 2.75%, Capital Goods (2.27%), Consumer Durables (2.20%), Industrials (2.19%), Consumer Discretionary (2.18%), Bankex (2.06%), and Realty (2.02%). In contrast, BSE IT and Focused IT were the laggards.

The positive trend was led by buying in banking, auto and financial stocks, while IT counters saw some profit booking after the financial results of the software major.

"A sharp upsurge in global equity markets had a positive spill-over effect on domestic equity benchmarks, with a sharp rally in banking, auto and realty stocks fuelling optimism throughout the trading session," Ankur Punj, MD and Business Head at Equirus Wealth, said.

"Indian equity markets closed the week's final session on a positive note, with the Nifty experiencing a range-bound session with a bullish bias, gaining over 1% as investors carefully priced in expectations of progress from the upcoming US-Iran negotiations, even as the ceasefire continued to remain uncertain," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said.