Sensex climbs 262 points in 3-day rally

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Friday, extending their winning momentum to the third day running, amid a rally in IT stocks and softer-than-expected US jobs data tempering expectations of near-term monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 261.79 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 77,763.91. During the day, it jumped 655.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 78,157.52. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up 95.15 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 24,270.85. From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech surged 5.79 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, which climbed 1.81 per cent. Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, and ICICI Bank were also among the winners.

Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards. In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi rebounded nearly 6 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended in positive territory. The BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.46 per cent and SmallCap Select index dipped 0.33 per cent.

Sectorally, realty surged 2.22 per cent, focused IT jumped 1.74 per cent, IT (1.55 per cent), healthcare (1.31 per cent), commodities (0.90 per cent), metal (0.89 per cent) and telecommunication (0.77 per cent). Power declined 2.39 per cent, capital goods (2.26 per cent), industrials (1.45 per cent), utilities (0.58 per cent), auto (0.42 per cent) and consumer durables (0.32 per cent). A total of 2,257 stocks advanced, while 1,986 declined and 198 remained unchanged on the BSE.

“Domestic markets closed the session higher, despite intermittent volatility and profit-booking, aided by supportive global cues and growing expectations of a more accommodative global rate environment following softer US labour market data.

“Sentiment was further lifted by positive outcomes from the India-Japan Summit and continued recovery in the IT sector,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

On the domestic front, softening crude oil prices remain a key macro tailwind, supporting the inflation outlook, external balances, and overall economic stability, he added.

Markets in Europe were quoting on a mixed note.

US markets ended on a mixed note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 1.14 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.80 per cent. The S&P 500 ended flat.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up 0.24 per cent to USD 71.97 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 311.82 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 579.48 points, or 0.75 per cent, to end at 77,502.12. The Nifty rallied 169.85 points, or 0.71 per cent, to settle at 24,175.70.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 663.44 points, or 0.86 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 214.85 points, or 0.89 per cent.

“Domestic markets extended their gains on Friday, with the Nifty-50 advancing 0.4 per cent to close at 24,271, taking its weekly gain to 0.9 per cent. Sentiment was supported by weaker-than-expected US labour market data, reinforcing expectations of Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged.

“A rebound in Information Technology stocks and favourable global cues further supported the rally, although gains were pared in the latter half of the session amid profit booking in PSU Banks and energy stocks,” Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.