Indian equity benchmarks hit new highs for the fourth straight session on Friday, with the Nifty 50 index rising above its crucial psychological level of 17,700 for the first time and the Sensex rising over 387 points to hit an all-time high of 59,527. ITC, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top movers in the Sensex. Indian markets outperformed Asian peers on Friday as Asian stocks edged higher after losses at the start of the week, but Chinese shocks and global growth concerns weighed on investors’ minds while the dollar hit a three-week high. level was near.
As of 9:20 am, the Sensex was up 328 points at 59,468 and the Nifty 50 index was up 92 points at 17,722.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recovered from early losses to trade flat but was still down 2.7 per cent in the week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent a day earlier after posting its lowest level in 10 months, as the saga surrounding the China Evergrande conglomerate moved to a conclusion, troubling investors.
Back home, sixteen of the 19 sectors compiled by the BSE were trading higher with the banking index gaining nearly 1 per cent.
Indices in telecom, finance, information technology, real estate, auto, FMCG and consumer discretionary goods and services also rose between 0.5-1 per cent.
On the other hand, selling pressure was witnessed in utilities, metals and oil & gas stocks.
Mid- and small-cap stocks were underperforming their larger peers, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices up 0.3 per cent each.
ITC was the top Nifty gainer, with the stock rising 3 per cent to Rs 237.20. ITC has gained over 10 per cent in the last two trading sessions after a breakout in the technical charts. Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Eicher Motors, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, SBI Life, Kotak Mahindra Bank and TCS also rose between 1-2.4%.
On the other hand, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, NTPC, Hindalco, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Coal India and Power Grid were among the notable losers.
Overall market breadth was positive as 1,419 stocks were leading while 1,163 were falling on the BSE.
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