Sensex, Nifty Snap Three Months Of Consecutive Decline To End March Higher: Market Wrap
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 1.78% up at 58,991.52, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended 1.63% higher at 17,359.75.
The Indian equity benchmarks rallied in trade on Friday as banking and IT services led the surge. The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 closed at their highest levels for the first time since March 10, 2023.
Intraday, the benchmarks rose the most since Nov. 11, 2022. However, over the past one year, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.72% while the Nifty 50 declined 0.60% in fiscal 2023.
The NSE Nifty Bank rose the most since November 2022, following three consecutive months of decline.
Asian and European markets rose and the U.S. equity futures were steady, as a gauge of global shares headed for a second straight quarterly gain, underscoring investor optimism in the face of banking turmoil and elevated interest rates.
Consumer goods and food and beverage stocks outperformed and banks retreated as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index struggled for direction. Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed, as were those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, after the underlying gauge rose 0.9% overnight, pushing further into a bull market.
Technology shares led the charge globally this quarter, surging 19%—the most since mid-2020. The upbeat tone has been on display this week, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.6% Thursday, in its third increase in four days.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 1,032 points up, or 1.78%, at 58,991.52, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended 279 points higher, or 1.63%, at 17,359.75.
Tata Motors Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., State Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. positively added to the change.
Whereas Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Bajaj Finance Ltd. weighed down the Nifty.
The broader market indices ended higher. The S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.96%, whereas the S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 1.35%.
All the 19 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, with the S&P BSE Information Technology, S&P BSE Teck, and S&P BSE Bankex gaining the most.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. About 2,383 stocks rose, 1,173 declined, and 124 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., and Adani Green Energy Ltd. declined among the Adani Group company stocks.
On the other hand, Adani Enterprises Ltd. ended the day 0.6% higher.
The headline indices snapped three weeks of decline to rise the most in 23 weeks or five months since Oct. 21, 2022. Nifty logged weekly gains of 2.45%, whereas the Sensex advanced 2.55% in trade this week.
Indices ended lower in trade last week. The Sensex declined 0.80% and Nifty was down 0.91%.
All the sectors advanced in trade this week with Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Bank and Nifty IT being the top gainers.
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