Last Updated: March 22, 2024, 15:47 IST
Sensex (Representative image/Reuters)
Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty traded with cuts on Friday, dragged by IT stocks
Shrugging off early weakness, equity markets rebounded and held their gains through the day on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex, which fell over 200 points in early deals, closed 191 points (0.26 per cent) higher at 72,832 levels.
The Nifty50, on the other hand, ended at 22,097, up 85 points (0.39 per cent), led by Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, UPL, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma, Cipla, SBI Life, Bajaj Auto, Titan, Eicher Motors, ITC, JSW Steel, L&T, Hindalco, Tata Motors, and Adani Ports.
In the broader markets, too, positive sentiment lifted the BSE MidCap index 0.38 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index 1.06 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty IT was the only sector that declined today after global giant Accenture trimmed its revenue forecast for FY24, and painting a dull outlook for the sector. The IT index slipped 2.26 per cent today.
Global Cues
Markets in Asia-Pacific remained a mixed bag of green and red on Friday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 continuing its bull run for the second consecutive trading session soaring 0.53 per cent and trading above 41,000 levels, while the Topix also climbed 0.64 per cent.
However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were down by 1.70 per cent at 16,580 levels. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was also trading lower at 0.31 per cent on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.19 per cent, and the Kosdaq was down 0.03 per cent.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes hit fresh highs, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, rising 0.68 per cent and 0.32 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite saw a jump of 0.20 per cent.
