IT, bank and auto stocks help equity indices end day and week in green

Equity indices extended their winning run to a second straight session on Friday, buoyed by robust demand for IT, bank and auto stocks amid a supportive trend overseas.

The two-day rally also helped the benchmarks post their second straight weekly advance, in lockstep with a global rebound despite lingering concerns over high inflation and coordinated policy tightening by central banks.

Continuing with the previous session's momentum, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 632.13 points or 1.17 per cent to settle at 54,884.66.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 182.30 points or 1.13 per cent to 16,352.45.

Tech Mahindra was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 4.10 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, M&M, Infosys, L&T and Bajaj Finserv.

On the other hand, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and Nestle were the laggards, slumping as much as 2.43 per cent.

"Joining the global rally, the investors were in a buying mood following favourable retail earnings in the US. Receding FII selling also provided comfort to the domestic market in bringing down volatility.

"The RBI's upcoming policy meeting will be a key factor in the market, where they are expected to announce an additional policy rate hike of 25-35 bps," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex climbed 558.27 points or 1.02 per cent, while the Nifty gained 86.30 points or 0.53 per cent.

"The recent rebound shows that we're just mirroring the global markets, especially the US and it may continue ahead as well. Besides, upcoming macroeconomic data and auto sales numbers will also be in focus... Meanwhile, we recommend maintaining a positive yet cautious approach and focusing more on stock selection," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.69 per cent and the smallcap index gained 1.20 per cent in Friday's session.

Among BSE sectoral indices, IT jumped 2.38 per cent, followed by teck (1.84 per cent), capital goods (1.69 per cent), industrials (1.58 per cent), auto (1.50 per cent) and bank (1.35 per cent).

In contrast, oil and gas fell 0.88 per cent, energy 0.54 per cent, metal 0.48 per cent and utilities 0.23 per cent.

Global markets maintained their upward trajectory, with bourses in Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong ending higher.

Markets in Europe were also trading in the positive territory in the afternoon trade. Wall Street had ended significantly higher on Thursday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.95 per cent to USD 118.5 per barrel.

The rupee inched 2 paise higher to close at 77.59 (provisional) against US dollar on Friday, supported by a weak greenback overseas.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree as they offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,597.84 crore on Thursday, as per stock exchange data.