Sensex Extends Gains For Second Day, Jumps 462 Points, Nifty Settles Near 15,700

Indian equity benchmarks finished the week on a higher note, extending their gains for the second straight session on Friday, led by a strong interest in automobile, bank and consumer stocks. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) also supported the surprise upward move.

The domestic indices mirrored Asian stocks, which traded higher today, tracking an overnight rise on Wall Street.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 462 points or 0.88 per cent to close at 52,728 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 143 points or 0.92 per cent up to settle at 15,699. Both the indices surged in the same quantum yesterday.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.21 per cent lower and small-cap moved 1.31 per cent higher.

14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty FMCG outperformed the platform by rising as much as 1.97 per cent, 1.75 per cent, 1.56 per cent and 1.24 per cent, respectively. Nifty IT ended 0.89 per cent lower.

On the stock-specific front, M&M was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 4.36 per cent to Rs 1,072.50. Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,396 shares advanced while 909 declined on BSE.

"Post correction over past couple of weeks, equity markets ended this week with positive returns. Major key indices and most sectoral indices gained during the week. Correction in crude oil prices from recent peak and softening in commodity prices offered some relief to the markets in an otherwise high global inflation environment. Monsoon progress is an important factor to watch as good monsoon would calm concerns with respect to food inflation," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.

"Equity markets in the near term are expected to continue reacting to news related to inflation, monetary policy and commodity price movement," Mr Chouhan added.

On the 30-share BSE index, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, HUL, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Nestle India, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), UltraTech Cement and Maruti were among the top gainers.

In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Wipro and Sun Pharma finished in the red.

Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, slipped 0.48 per cent to close at Rs 661.70.