Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday closed in the green after falling for the past two days. The domestic indices were aided by fag-end buying from foreign institutional investors and a largely positive trend in Asian and European markets.
The BSE Sensex gained 114 points (0.19 per cent) to settle at 60,950, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 64 points (0.36 per cent) higher at 18,117.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, and Wipro were among the winners. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Infosys, HDFC Bank, and NTPC were among the losers.
Among individual stocks, Adani Enterprises surged 6.7 per cent to Rs 3,832 after the company’s consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September more-than-doubled versus last year to Rs 461 crore.
The broader market, however, ended on a mixed note. The NSE Midcap index was down 0.3 per cent, while the Smallcap index added 0.4 per cent.
Sectorwise, the NSE Metal index surged over 4 per cent. The PSU Bank and Media indices were up a per cent each. The Pharma index, however, slipped a per cent. India VIX declined 1.8 per cent on Friday.
In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE benchmark declined 70 points (0.11 per cent) to settle at 60,836, while the Nifty dipped 30 points (0.17 per cent) to end at 18,052.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo settled lower. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended lower on Thursday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 2.34 per cent higher at $96.89 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Thursday as they bought shares worth Rs 677.62 crore, as per exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 47 paise to close at 82.41 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as the greenback retreated from its elevated levels.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.85 and finally settled at 82.41 against the American currency, registering a rise of 47 paise over its previous close amid a positive trend in domestic equities. On Thursday, the rupee had closed 8 paise lower at 82.88.