Gains drive market to end high; Auto Index led gains
The stock market ended higher on Friday, driven by gains. The domestic market witnessed low volatility in the absence of fresh triggers and traded on a positive note throughout the session.
Backed by buying in the pharma, FMCG and auto sector S&P BSE Sensex ended in green territory, 224 points up, on Friday, maintaining its rising streak to the third session.
After gyrating 656.72 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index rebounded from the day’s low to settle 223.51 points or 0.69 per cent higher at 32,424.10. It hit an intra-day high of 32,480.52 and a low of 31,823.80.
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Similarly, NSE Nifty advanced 90.20 points or 0.95 per cent to 9,580.30. During the day, it touched a high of 9,598.85 and a low of 9,376.90.
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On a weekly basis, Sensex earned 5.7 per cent and Nifty gained 6 per cent.
ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, ITC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, L&T, Maruti, UltraTech Cement and HUL.
On the other hand, Infosys, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Titan were among the laggards.
Among the individual stocks, Vodafone Idea rallied 35 per cent at Rs 7.85 on the BSE during the intraday trade, after media reported that Alphabet Inc’s Google is considering to buy a 5 per cent stake in financially-stressed telecom major.
Besides stock-specific action, heavy foreign fund inflows lent buying confidence to domestic investors, analysts said.
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors bought equities worth Rs 2,354.14 crore on Thursday, provisional exchange data showed.
Further, markets witnessed volatility as India registered its biggest single-day spike of 7,466 coronavirus cases.
The number of COVID-19 cases in India crossed 1.65 lakh and the death toll climbed to 4,706, as per health ministry data. Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 58.10 lakh, with the death toll at around 3.60 lakh.
Meanwhile, bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo closed on a negative note, while Shanghai and Seoul finished with gains.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the red in early deals.
International oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 2.33 per cent to USD 35.19 per barrel.
On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to provisionally close at 75.62 against the US dollar.
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