Benchmark indices ends higher for 3rd straight day, Nifty above 17,100

Mumbai : Indian benchmark indices ended higher for the straight third day on Friday and ended the week on the positive note, following the global equity market which continued their strong rally on expectations of the US that it may end its rate hike cycle.

At close, Sensex was up 712.46 points or 1.25 per cent at 57,570.25, and the Nifty 50 was up 228.65 points or 1.35 per cent at 17,158.25. A total of 2,084 shares have advanced, 1,238 shares declined, and 135 shares were unchanged. Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserve, IndusInd Bank were major gainers on the Sensex.

“Wall Street staged a robust recovery after a shaky opening due to a contraction in the US economy, as the market perceived that aggressive monetary policy will soon come to an end. This added optimism in the domestic market, and the rupee strengthened against the dollar increasing appetite for FIIs,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Sentiments of investors got boosted after the US data show contraction in the economy for the second consecutive month raised hope that US Fed will not go aggressive rate hike.

On week-on-week basis, metals, banks and realty were top performers in the week, while auto and healthcare witnessed losses. Within the Nifty Index, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories lost the most, while Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel gained the most.

Apart from this, Asia-Pacific stocks remained mixed today after rally was witnessed in the US markets. BSE midcap index rose 1 per cent and smallcap index added 1.38 per cent.

“The week ended on a high note with the bulls in Bank Nifty having complete control and thrashing the bears left right and centre. The Index remains in a buy-on-dip mode with immediate support at the 36,800 level. The upside resistance stands at 38,000 where the highest open interest is built up on the call side and once breached will see a further rally towards the 38,500-39,000 zone,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.