Market in positive lane for 7th day, IT in the saddle

The consumer durables index added 2.8%, followed by IT, technology and oil and gas

The stock market on Friday signed out with gains for the seventh day on the trot, with information technology (IT) stocks in the driver’s seat. The 30-share BSE Sensex finished at 33,679, a three-week high and the Nifty closed a little short of 10,400. Consumer durables and IT stocks turned out to be big movers.

For the whole of the week, the Sensex jumped 336.44 points, or one per cent, while the Nifty rallied 106.10 points, or 1.03 per cent. According to analysts, part of the bullishness can also be explained by expectations of a rating upgrade from Standard & Poor’s.

“Market traded in a positive bias on account of renewed buying in IT stocks and expectations of a sovereign rating upgrade. Domestic fundamentals are better, while a positive upgrade in rating will provide more conviction to investors on the government’s reforms agenda,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

The broader Nifty reclaimed the 10,400-mark, but that was short-lived as profit-taking pulled it down to 10,389.70, still a gain of 40.95 points, or 0.40 per cent.

The Sensex was in the green throughout to touch a high of 33,738.53 before settling up 91.16 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 33,679.24, its highest closing level since November 6.

Domestic financial institutions continued to show faith and more bets from retail investors are supporting the rally, traders said.

IT bellwether Infosys was the leader of the ring as it surged 1.87 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra and Kotak Bank. State Bank of India lost most by falling 0.79 per cent.

The consumer durables index added 2.79 per cent, followed by IT, technology and oil and gas.

Broader markets continued to show a firm trend. The BSE mid-cap was up by 0.58 per cent and small-cap 0.45 per cent.

Asian shares ruled high. Most European stocks were trading higher too.