Ayush Bansal
Image: Business Today
The frontline equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) continued their recovery for the second consecutive day, rising nearly 1 percent amid a positive trend in the global markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 462.26 points (0.88 per cent) to end at 52,727.98 while the Nifty 50 rose 142.60 points (0.92 per cent) to settle at 15,699.25.
Both the indices had opened around 1 percent higher earlier in the day and traded in the positive territory throughout the session.
On the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Steel, Nestle India, and HDFC Bank were the top gainers on Friday. In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were among the losers.
Dollar stumbles
The US dollar slipped on Friday and headed for its first weekly decline of June as traders dialed down bets on where interest rates might peak and brought forward the timing of rate cuts to counter a possible recession.
A significant shift this week has been the fall in oil and commodity prices, which has eased inflation fears and allowed equity markets to rebound. This has eroded the safe-haven bid that’s been boosting the greenback against major currencies.
Top Gainers & Losers
Auto, banking, and FMCG stocks took the center stage today as easing commodity prices eased input cost and credit off-take pressures. M&M, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp, HUL, ICICI Bank, Britannia Industries, ONGC, Shree Cement, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Tata Consumer Products, Hindalco, and HDFC Bank rose between 1.5 percent and 4.4 percent to settle as top Nifty gainers.
On the downside, Tech M, Infosys, Apollo Hospitals, TCS, NTPC, HCL Tech, and Coal India ended as top laggards.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in the positive territory, rising to 1 percent.
Sectorally, all pockets sat firmly in the green. Gains were led by Nifty bank, financials, private banks, and media. Realty, auto, IT, FMCG, and pharma were other notable gainers. The market breadth was also extremely positive with the advance-decline ratio at 4.8:1.
Crude oil
Crude oil futures on Friday declined by 0.54 percent to ₹8,178 per barrel as participants trimmed their positions on low demand.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for July delivery fell by ₹44 or 0.54 percent to ₹8,178 per barrel with a business volume of 3,881 lots.
Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading 0.09 percent lower at USD 104.36 per barrel and Brent crude was 0.04 percent down at USD 110.09 per barrel in New York.