Nifty Closes At Record 11,470, Sensex Jumps 284 Points

Domestic stock markets surged on Friday, backed by banking, FMCG and metal stocks while advances in other Asian peers supported sentiment. BSE benchmark index Sensex rose 284.34 points to end at 37,947.88 while the NSE Nifty advanced 85.70 points to settle at a record 11,470.75. Nifty surpassed its last record closing high of 11,470.7 registered on August 9. Top gainers on the 50-scrip index were SBI, Grasim Industries, Yes Bank, Lupin and Tata Motors, finishing with gains of between 3 per cent and 4.3 per cent. Investors in other Asian markets cheered Washington and Beijing's decision to hold trade talks next week.

Here are 10 things to know about Friday's trading session:

1. The Nifty Bank - the NSE's sectoral index comprising banking stocks - ended 1.1 per cent higher. Other prominent banking stocks included Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank, settling 2.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent higher respectively.

2. ITC, finishing 2 per cent higher, was the biggest boost on the NSE index. ITC led the FMCG pack higher. Other gainers included Emami, HUL, Dabur and Britannia, rising between 2.2 per cent and 4.4 per cent.

3. Overall breadth of the market was positive with 1,059 advancers and 659 decliners on the NSE.

4. Cement stocks such as ACC, Ambuja Cements Ramco Cements, JK Lakshmi, Shree Cement, Orient Cement and India Cements closed with gains of between 1.9 per cent and 4.3 per cent, after the government allowed the import of petroleum coke for use as feedstock in cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and other industries.

5. Astrazeneca Pharma gained 10.6 per cent for the day, after the company received permission to market its cancer treatment tablets in the country. The Nifty Pharma closed 1 per cent higher.

6. Meanwhile, domestic equities also took support from gains in other Asian markets, where investor sentiment turned positive after the US and China agreed to resume trade talks on Thursday night. Amid a stalemate in the trade war with the US, China will send a top official to Washington this month to resume the high-level dialogue to resolve the deadlock over US President Donald Trump's demand to drastically reduce the $375 billion trade deficit.

7. "The news of easing in trade-war scenario between the US and China and recovery in Turkish lira triggered gap up start, which further supported by buying interest in index majors from across the board. Almost all the sectoral indices contributed to the move and similar trend was witnessed on the broader front too," said Jayant Manglik, president, Religare Broking.

8. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's latest monetary policy meeting released Thursday after market hours showed the policy panel cited possible risks of inflation in the second half of the year as one of the key drivers for raising interest rates in August.

9. However, despite Friday's gain of 0.8 per cent, the Nifty 50 gained 41 points, or 0.4 per cent, for the week. The BSE Sensex rose 78 points, or 0.2 per cent, during this period.

10. Weakness in the rupee, which plunged to an all-time low against the US dollar earlier this week, impacted the investor sentiment during the week. The currency and debt markets were closed on Friday for a local holiday and trading would resume on Monday.

(With agency inputs)