Mumbai: The BSE Sensex pared initial gains Friday to end modestly higher at 36,194.30 points on profit-booking by investors amid mixed global cues. Trading sentiment was mixed ahead of the two-day G20 summit in Argentina and expectation of oil production cut in the upcoming OPEC meet, analysts said. The 30-share Sensex settled 23.89 points, or 0.07 per cent, higher at 36,194.30, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 18.05 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 10,876.75.
During the week, the Sensex gained 1,213.28 points, or 2.34 per cent, while the Nifty rose 350 points, or 3.32 per cent. Yes Bank, Wipro, Kotak Bank, M&M, Sun Pharma, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, TCS, L&T, Bajaj Auto and HUL were among the top gainers, rising up to 6 per cent. On the other hand, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Vedanta, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, PowerGrid and SBI were among the top losers, falling up to 3 per cent. Sector-wise, realty, pharma and IT indices rose up to 2 per cent, while banking and metal stocks fell up to 0.55 per cent.
Investors also turned cautious ahead of the gross domestic product (GDP) data scheduled to be released later in the day, traders said. “The Indian equity market has hit a two-month high, 10-year bond yields are approaching 7.60 per cent levels, and the currency is under Rs 70 per US dollar,” said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management. “While our domestic macro environment has improved measurably, markets have also reflected the positive sentiment by rallying 8 per cent from the lows set on October 26. Elections loom as a key uncertainty heading into next month,” he added.
Meanwhile, the rupee rose for the fourth straight day, up 13 paise at 69.78 against the US dollar intra-day amid weakness in the greenback against some currencies overseas. On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 823.47 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 973.31 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.40 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.21 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.81 per cent, while Korea’s Kospi fell 0.82 per cent. In Europe, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.67 per cent, Paris’ CAC fell 40 0.49 per cent and London’s FTSE shed 0.65 per cent.
