Sensex Jumps Over 300 Points, Nifty At 11,485

Domestic equity indices opened on a positive note on Friday, with BSE benchmark Sensex reclaiming the 38,000-mark on heavy buying by domestic institutional investors as the industrial production grew at 6.6 per cent in July and retail inflation cooled to a 10-month low. At 1:37 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 304.90 points or 0.81 per cent to trade at 38,022.86. The broader Nifty50 was trading at 11,485.15, up 115.25 points or 1.01 per cent. Sectoral indices were green across the board, with metal, power, PSU, realty and oil & gas stocks posting sizeable gains of up to 1.66 per cent.    

Major gainers in the 30-share Sensex pack in the session were Sun Pharma (+2.88%), SBIN (+1.87%), Vedanta (+1.81%), ICICI Bank (+1.81%), Maruti (+1.60%) and Power Grid (+1.35%). Infosys (+1.25%), AInduslnd Bank (+0.44%), HDFC (+0.37%), BPCL (+0.36%), HDFC Bank (+0.30%) and NTPC (+0.24%) led the pack of Nifty gainers.

Buying activity picked momentum after data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Wednesday showed that retail inflation cooled to a 10-month low in August on cheaper food items while industrial output expanded by 6.6 per cent in July.

Food inflation slowed to 0.29 per cent from a year earlier, against 1.37 per cent in July. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation fell to 3.69 per cent in August on the back of easing prices of fruits, vegetables and other food items, as per data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). 

The rupee's recovery by 50 paise to 71.68 against the US dollar in early trade also added to the momentum today.

"The market seems to be in a positive trajectory as the rupee recovered from the record low on the news that PM Narendra Modi will hold economic review meet over the weekend. Investors are suggested to use every dip for the buying opportunity", said Ritesh Ashar, Chief Strategy Officer, KIFS Trade Capital.

Asian shares also nudged higher on Friday as moves by the United States and China to resolve a bitter trade dispute and a sharp interest rate hike in crisis-hit Turkey supported global risk appetite. Globally, oil prices today clawed back some of its losses from the previous session when prices fell the most in a month, although worries that emerging market crises and trade disputes could dent demand continued to drag.

On the other hand, the main losers in the 30-share Sensex pack in the morning session were Wipro (-0.12%) and TCS (-0.43%). The top laggards in the 50-share Nifty pack were Asian Paints (-0.42%), CIPLA (-0.41%), Coal India (-0.39%), Eicher Motors (-0.31%) and Infosys (-0.27%).

Domestic stock markets were closed on Thursday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi. On Wednesday, domestic equity markets registered strong gains. BSE benchmark index Sensex rose 304 points to close at 37,717, while the broader NSE Nifty settled 82 points higher at 11,369. (With agencies inputs)