Market finds little comfort in S&P action, but ends higher

The Sensex today scrambled for ways, but closed above the base line for the eighth straight session even as Standard and Poor's kept India's sovereign credit rating unchanged.

The broader NSE Nifty too moved sideways multiple times before ending a tad higher.

"Market traded in a narrow range due to status quo in sovereign rating where investors expected a positive revision. Later, the market reversed from the day's low and managed to close on positive note with an expectation of improvement in Q2 GDP data during the week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

The outcome of the upcoming OPEC meeting on oil supply and F&O expiry this week kept investors on the sidelines.

The 30-share barometer opened lower and stayed in the red for the most part of the day. But sudden buying in the last one hour of trading took it to 33,724.44, up 45.20 points, or 0.13 per cent, from its previous close.

The index had risen 918.80 points in the past seven sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended flat, up by 9.85 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 10,399.55. Intra-day, it moved between 10,340.20 and 10,407.15.

The market floated on domestic institutional buying and positive leads from Europe.

The uptrend in the previous seven sessions came on the back of Moody's upgrading India sovereign rating and better- than-estimated earnings by some blue-chip companies.

Investors turned cautious as Standard and Poor's kept its sovereign rating for India unchanged at 'BBB-minus' with 'stable' outlook, citing vulnerabilities stemming from low per capita income and high government debt. The rating decision came after trading hours on Friday.

Marked by volatility, power, realty, infrastructure, consumer durables and capital goods stocks saw gains, helping both the key indices close higher for the eighth straight day -- their longest winning run since June 23, 2015.

Domestic institutional investors stood firm as they purchased shares worth Rs 427.63 crore on Friday, provisional data showed. But foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs 416.28 crore.

Other Asian markets closed lower, ignoring a strong lead from Wall Street. European shares were in the green.

Market heavyweight NTPC surged the most by 3.13 per cent. Axis Bank came in second, up 2.73 per cent. ONGC, SBI, Wipro and L&T too advanced.

The BSE realty index was the prime mover, rising 1.24 per cent, followed by power, infrastructure and consumer durables.

Pace of buying picked up in broader markets, lifting the BSE small-cap index by 0.77 per cent and mid-cap 0.52 per cent.