Benchmarks soar for 2nd day; end volatile week with modest gains

Stocks defied gravity for the second straight session on Friday as recently-mauled energy and metal counters attracted heavy buying interest.

A recovering rupee, encouraging earnings and unabated buying by domestic institutional investors added to the momentum, brokers said.

The BSE Sensex surged over 261 points to finish at 34,924.87, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 91.30 points to 10,605.15.

On the global front, investors were cautious after US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a strong footing at 34,753.47 and maintained its upward trend to hit the day's high of 35,017.93. It finally ended at 34,924.87, up 261.76 points, or 0.76 per cent.

The index had rallied 318.20 points in the previous session.

The Nifty finished the day at 10,605.15, showing a hefty gain of 91.30 points, or 0.87 per cent, after shuttling between 10,628.05 and 10,524.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex scored a moderate gain of 76.57 points, or 0.22 per cent while the Nifty rose 8.75 points, or 0.08 per cent.

Meanwhile, Indian markets have witnessed a significant rise during the first four years of the Narendra Modi government.

Since May 26, 2014, the day Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister, the benchmark Sensex has risen by 10,207.99 points or 41.30 per cent, while the NSE Nifty spurted 3,246.10 points or 44.11 per cent. The Sensex hit a lifetime high of 36,443.98 on January 29, 2018.

"A less than hawkish US Fed minutes and positive global cues uplifted domestic sentiments. Short covering was broad-based across sectors, while some buying interest was seen in mid and small cap stocks.

"Some respite was seen in INR and oil prices which helped the market to recoup its losses this week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 1,480.51 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 701.93 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

State-owned oil companies IOC, ONGC, HPCL and BPCL recovered after a sharp decline yesterday.

ONGC was the top performer in the Sensex pack, rising 4.59 per cent, with global crude oil benchmark Brent dipping to USD 77.03 a barrel.

IT stocks extend gains for the second day, led by Infosys 0.57 per cent, Tata Elxsi 3.03 per cent and Wipro 0.28 per cent.

Tata Consultancy Services' market valuation surged past the Rs 7 lakh crore mark in intra-day trade, making it the first company to achieve this milestone.

Tata Steel climbed 3.43 per cent after the NCLAT refused to entertain a second round of bidding for Bhushan Steel.

Other gainers in the Sensex pack were Yes Bank 2.71 per cent, IndusInd Bank 2.29 per cent, Adani Ports 2.17 per cent, Axis Bank 1.88 per cent, Hero Motocorp 1.85 per cent, Tata Motors 1.82 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.78 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.76 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 1.63 per cent, M&M 1.55 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.30 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.97 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.95 per cent, HUL 0.90 per cent, HDFC Ltd 0.71 per cent, RIL 0.62 per cent, Infosys 0.57 per cent, L&T 0.38 per cent and Wipro 0.28 per cent.

However, Coal India fell 1.36 per cent, ITC 1.04 per cent, SBI 0.56 per cent, TCS 0.43 per cent, ICICI Bank 0.25 per cent, Dr Reddy's 0.08 per cent and Asian Paints 0.04 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, oil and gas rose 3.05 per cent, metal 2.20 per cent, infrastructure 1.98 per cent, auto 1.70 per cent, PSU 1.42 per cent, power 1.37 per cent, realty 1.27 per cent, healthcare 1.05 per cent, bankex 1.02 per cent, capital goods 0.65 per cent, teck 0.37 per cent, FMCG 0.21 per cent and IT 0.15 per cent.

Consumer durables was the sole loser, declined 0.29 per cent.

The broader markets also showed a firming trend, with the mid-cap index advancing by 1.55 per cent and small-cap gaining 1.17 per cent.

Vedanta Ltd shares recovered 0.60 per cent after a two-session falling streak.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei ended 0.06 per cent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.56 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.42 per cent.

In the Eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.99 per cent and Paris CAC gained 0.52 per cent in early deals. London's FTSE rose 0.14 per cent.