Equities logged their third straight weekly rise on Friday after the benchmark BSE Sensex jumped by 275 points to 24,952.74 -- its over two-month high -- as foreign funds continued to pump in money amid a firm global trend on dovish stance of the US Federal Reserve. The broader NSE Nifty too recaptured the 7,600-mark.
Shares of IT major, TCS emerged as the top gainer among Sensex constituents with a rise of 3.21 per cent to Rs2,427.25 followed by GAIl at 3.13 per cent to Rs364.15. Barring pharma, all the segments like power, telecom, realty, banking, infra and auto gained. Both the indexes surged for a third consecutive week as BSE Sensex climbed by 234.75 points or 0.94 per cent while NSE Nifty surged 94.15 points or 1.25 per cent. The rupee appreciating to an over two-month high against the dollar also boosted trading sentiment.
“Global central banks’ policy action has favoured the domestic market. The continuous inflow of foreign funds and pickup in the Chinese market has created a positive sentiment in the market,” said Vinod Nair Head of Fundamental Research at Geojit BNP Paribas.
On the day, Sensex opened higher at 24,729.41 and moved between 24,986.94 and 24,681.64, before ending at 24,952.74, showing a sharp rise of 275.37 points or 1.12 per cent - its highest closing since January 6. The NSE Nifty rallied by 91.80 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 7,604.35. Sentiment was bullish on firm Asian cues on dovish US Federal Reserve stance, underpinned by continued capital inflows into emerging markets loomed over the momentum.