Markets Build on Gains for Second Day; Post First Weekly Loss in Seven

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks were on the mend for the second straight session Friday, riding on a rally in auto counters amid a modest recovery in the rupee.

The BSE Sensex spurted 147.01 points to finish at 38,389.82, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 52.20 points to 11,589.10.

On a weekly basis, both the Sensex and Nifty halted their six-week winning streak by falling 255.25 points or 0.66 per cent, and 91.40 points or 0.78 per cent, respectively.

Auto stocks zoomed following the government's decision to exempt electric vehicles (EVs) and automobiles run on alternative fuels from permit requirements.

Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto were the top two gainers in the Sensex pack.

The rupee was trading higher by 29 paise at 71.70 (intra-day) against the dollar. The domestic unit had hit a fresh life-time low of 72.11 before settling at 71.99 Thursday.

After a sharp fall of some 880 points over the last few sessions on depreciating rupee and surging crude oil prices, the Sensex has rebounded in the past two days on value-buying.

After a higher opening, the BSE Sensex hit a high of 38,421.56 as buying activity intensified towards the fag-end. It finally closed at 38,389.82, up 147.01 points, or 0.38 per cent. Intra-day, it entered into the negative zone to hit a low of 38,067.22.

The 50-share Nifty went past the 11,600-mark to hit a high of 11,603 before finishing 52.20 points, or 0.45 per cent higher at 11,589.10. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued their buying activity on the bourses. They bought shares worth a net Rs 611.98 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 455 crore Thursday, provisional data showed.

"Market reversed from day's low as gains in rupee and a gradual drop in oil price supported the sentiment. Auto stocks led from the front while outperformance in mid-cap indices gave some relief to investors after recent correction.

"On the valuation front market remains expensive while uptick in growth and prospects of earnings is protecting the downside," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Hero MotoCorp stole the show in the Sensex pack by surging 5.27 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto at 5.06 per cent. Other winners in the auto pack included M&M 4.12 per cent, Tata Motors 2.80 per cent, Ashok Leyland 1.54 per cent, and TVS Motor 3.68 per cent.

Other index gainers were Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, HUL, ICICI Bank, RIL, Wipro, Axis Bank, Coal India, NTPC, Vedanta, Infosys, Asian Paints, TCS, L&T and HDFC Bank, rising up to 4.98 per cent.

Sun Pharma succumbed to heavy selling pressure and lost 1.84 per cent after reports said the US Food and Drug Administration has issued observations related to test procedures at the company's Halol plant.

Stocks of private-sector lender Yes Bank hit a four-month low by plunging 4.59 per cent. Among sectoral indices, telecom jumped the most at 3.35 per cent, followed by auto 2.07 per cent, metal 1.96 per cent, healthcare 0.0.89 per cent, oil and gas 0.79 per cent, FMCG 0.65 per cent, teck 0.65 per cent, realty 0.61 per cent, IT 0.41 per cent and consumer durables 0.32 per cent.

Power, banking and infrastructure indices ended in the red, falling by up to 0.08 per cent.

Broader markets too remained in bullish form, with the BSE mid-cap index gaining 1.15 per cent and small-cap spurting 0.55 per cent. In the global markets, Asian equities were mixed as investors remain on edge over US President Donald Trump's threat to hit China with fresh tariffs.

China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.40 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.80 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.01 per cent. European indices too were trading mixed in their late morning session. Paris CAC 40 rose 0.07 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX slipped 0.15 per cent. London's FTSE too edged lower by 0.21 per cent.