Led by auto stocks equity indices rise; trade war concerns limit gains (Roundup)

Broadly positive global markets along with healthy buying in auto and consumer durable stocks lifted the key Indian equity indices on Friday.

Although the indices had opened on a negative note, they bounced back within the first hour of trade.

Weak sentiments due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China led the indices to cede major gains around the last hour of trade.

Index-wise, the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed at 10,772.65 points -- higher by 22.90 points or 0.21 per cent from its previous close of 10,749.75 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensex on the BSE, which had opened at 35,543.66 points, closed at 35,657.86 points -- up by 83.31 points or 0.23 per cent from its previous session's close of 35,574.55 points.

Sensex touched a high of 35,799.46 points and a low of 35,532.21 points during the intra-day trade. The BSE market breadth was tilted towards the bulls with 1,451 advances against 1,197 declines.

"Markets ended higher on Friday after the minor correction seen on Thursday," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

"A sell-off from the highs of the day curbed the gains when China retaliated as the tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese exports to the US came into force," he said, however adding that positive European markets supported the Indian indices.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said: "Market showed signs of stability as improving outlook on auto and consumption oriented sector lifted the sentiment."

"However, emergence of profit booking towards end on account of continuing trade tensions led the indices to end with marginal gains," he added.

According to Jasani, broad market indices like the BSE mid-cap and small cap indices outperformed the main indices.

The S&P BSE mid-cap rose by 0.56 per cent and the S&P BSE small cap ended 0.46 per cent higher from its previous close.

On the currency front, the rupee ended at 68.87 per dollar, eight paise stronger than its previous close of 68.95 per greenback.

Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth Rs 968.18 crore while the domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,480.82 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE auto index surged by 337.86 points, the capital goods index rose by 201.04 points and the oil and gas stocks ended 97.91 points higher.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE healthcare index fell by 105.67 points, the consumer durables index was down 45.21 points and the FMCG index ended lower by 17.90 points from its previous close.

The major gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp, up 3.83 per cent at Rs 3,636.70; Tata Motors, up 3.69 per cent at Rs 271.15; Tata Motors (DVR), up 2.25 per cent at Rs 156.85; Bajaj Auto, up 1.80 per cent at Rs 3,023.35; and Tata Consultancy Services, up 1.68 per cent at Rs 1,913.30 per share.

The top losers were Sun Pharma, down 1.28 per cent at Rs 558.45; NTPC, down 1.22 per cent at Rs 150.25; HDFC, down 0.82 per cent at Rs 1,915.75; Wipro, down 0.75 per cent at Rs 263; and Vedanta, down 0.72 per cent at Rs 219.50 per share.

--IANS

rrb/vd