Sensex faces rough ride, but stays up, IIP takes focus

The stock markets failed to tap into the early momentum today as both the Sensex and the Nifty did not make much headway in the end ahead of IIP numbers even as other Asian shares raced to an 18-month high amid a higher opening in Europe.
Lacklustre quarterly readings of a few Nifty companies kept sentiment depressed. On top of it, rush to take profit at the fag end of trading washed off much of the initial gains.
Investors treaded with a sense of caution before release of key macro data -- the index of industrial production (IIP) for December.

As a sign of volatility, the 30-share Sensex climbed to a high of 28,456.18, but hit a low of 28,286.80 before ending up a mere 4.55 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 28,334.25. It had gained 40 points on Thursday.
The 50-share Nifty, which rescaled the 8,800 mark and touched a high of 8,822.10 intra-day, finished at 8,793.55, up 15.15 points, or 0.17 per cent.
"The early positivity riding on potential US tax cuts failed to add more legs to Indian stocks, except for IT stocks which continued to tick higher. Lacklustre third quarter readings of a few Nifty constituents punctured sentiment, but expectations of a firm IIP release ensured the Nifty closed not much away from 8,800," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

There was a rally in global markets on upbeat Chinese trade data and an overnight record close in the US after President Donald Trump promised to unveil tax cuts soon.

For the third straight week, the Sensex recorded a rise -- this time, 93.73 points, or 0.33 per cent -- while the Nifty gained 52.60 points, or 0.60 per cent, respectively.
In the Sensex pack, 15 ended higher. TCS took the top spot, surging 3.12 per cent, followed by Adani Ports (2.23 per cent).
Shares of country's largest lender SBI ended up 0.15 per cent after it posted a 71 per cent growth in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December.

Other top movers of the day included Infosys (2.10 per cent), Tata Steel (1.71 per cent) and NTPC (1.22 per cent).
The IT index put up a stellar show, up 2.06 per cent, followed by technology, capital goods, bank and power indices.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 356.63 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Broader markets displayed a mixed trend. The BSE small-cap index rose 0.14 per cent while mid-cap index fell 0.28 per cent.
In rest of Asia, Japan's Nikkei climbed 2.49 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.21 per cent and Shanghai Composite 0.42 per cent.

Of the 30-share Sensex, 12 scrips ended higher while 18
lost.
Both BSE and NSE will remain closed on Monday, March 13, for Holi.
The market breadth was negative as 1,641 shares ended lower, 1,153 higher while 180 went steady.
The total BSE turnover read Rs 7,509.23 crore, much lower than Rs 54,292.54 crore in the previous trading session.