Markets gain for second straight day; Sensex ends 203 points higher

Equity benchmarks ended higher on Friday for the second day, helped by buying in index major Reliance Industries, along with fresh foreign fund inflows.

Extending its previous day’s rally, the 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 203.01 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 59,960. During the day, it jumped 376.33 points or 0.62 per cent to 60,133. 

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 49.85 points or 0.28 per cent to end at 17,787 .

In the Sensex pack, Maruti, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major winners. 

Shares of Maruti climbed nearly 5 per cent after the company announced its earnings. Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were among the laggards.

Gains in index heavyweights helped the domestic market to withstand its gains despite negative trends in its global peers. US tech stocks had a significant sell-off following disappointing quarterly results and a bleak forecast.

“However, the strengthening rupee along with a softening treasury yield and decent Q2 earnings results are supporting the domestic market in the near term,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE smallcap gauge fell by 0.62 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.41 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, auto jumped 1.66 per cent, energy climbed 1.20 per cent, oil & gas (0.76 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.32 per cent).

However, metal fell by 1.44 per cent, commodities declined by 1.08 per cent, IT (0.76 per cent), bankex (0.72 per cent) and telecommunication (0.55 per cent).