Sensex, Nifty bounce back after a day's pause, log weekly rise

Equity indices resumed their upward trajectory on Friday after a day's pause as banking, finance, and telecom counters saw robust demand amid mixed global cues.

A recovering rupee and unabated foreign fund inflows added to the momentum, traders said. After a choppy session, the Sensex ended 282.29 points, or 0.65 per cent higher, at 43,882.3.

Similarly, the Nifty rose 87.35 points, or 0.68 per cent, to close at 12,859.05.

Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 9.13 per cent, followed by Titan, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, NTPC, and HDFC Bank.

Bharti Airtel finished 3.18 per cent higher after Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers announced the completion of their merger deal to create a mega tower firm.   On the other hand, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Axis Bank, HUL, and L&T were the losers, skidding up to 3.72 per cent.

During the holiday-shortened week, the Sensex rose 439.25 points, or 1.01 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 139.10 points, or 1.09 per cent.

“Domestic equities gained amid mixed global cues. A sharp rebound in heavyweight financials on news that the government may be considering corporate and foreign bank participation in privatisation of select PSBs led the market to move higher. Additionally, buying momentum in mid-cap and small-caps remained visible in the backdrop of improved prospects of earnings improvement. We continue to maintain our cautiously optimistic approach about the market as underlying strength of markets remains intact," said Binod Modi, head, strategy, at Reliance Securities.

BSE telecom, consumer durables, power, finance, teck, utilities, bankex and FMCG indices rallied as much as 4.73 per cent, while BSE energy was the sole sectoral laggard.