Stock markets extend rally to 3rd day; Bajaj Finance surges over 8%
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rose for the third consecutive day on Friday to close at a more than three-week high, tracking a sharp rally in Bajaj Finance and foreign fund inflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 166.49 points, or 0.21 per cent, to settle at over three-week high of 78,094.64, with 16 of its constituents closing higher and 14 with losses. During the day, it jumped 344.1 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 78,272.25.
The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 66.45 points, or 0.27 per cent, to end at a three-week high of 24,383.60.
From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance jumped 8.11 per cent after the firm on Thursday reported a 28 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 6,081 crore for the June quarter of FY27, driven by growth in core income and improvement in asset quality.
Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics and Titan were also among the winners.
Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Infosys, ITC and InterGlobe Aviation were among the major laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,623.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
“Positive momentum continued, although some profit booking emerged at higher levels as caution persisted amid elevated yields and potential rate-hike concerns. The sustainability of the recovery will depend largely on the ongoing earnings season, which is currently outperforming forecasts, and on a reduction in global risks,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The domestic IT index witnessed profit booking following its recent rally, he added.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.45 per cent to $89.43 per barrel.
“Indian equity markets ended higher on a resilient note, brushing aside geopolitical concerns as strong corporate earnings and sector-specific buying offset worries over renewed US-Iran hostilities. The Nifty opened marginally higher, extending the previous session’s gains, and remained supported by earnings-driven optimism and a temporary revival in foreign institutional inflows,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
The BSE MidCap Select index climbed 0.66 per cent and SmallCap Select index went up by 0.48 per cent.
Among sectors, Auto jumped 1.99 per cent, followed by Capital Goods (1.78 per cent), Power (1.26 per cent), Oil & Gas (1.01 per cent), Telecommunication (0.83 per cent), Utilities (0.67 per cent) and Services (0.66 per cent).
IT tanked 1.39 per cent, Focused IT dropped 1.21 per cent, FMCG (0.90 per cent), Hospitals (0.78 per cent) and Private Banks index (0.20 per cent).
A total of 2,568 stocks advanced, while 1,653 declined and 204 remained unchanged on the BSE.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 2,034.87 points, or 2.67 per cent, and the Nifty surged 616.15 points, or 2.59 per cent.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded sharply and jumped 17.91 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended in the positive territory.
Markets in Europe were trading in the green. US markets ended significantly higher on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Sensex ended 273.55 points, or 0.35 per cent, higher at 77,928.15. The Nifty went up by 66.95 points, or 0.28 per cent, to settle at 24,317.15.
