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F&O expiry: Sensex gains 258 pts, ends Feb series 8% higher; RIL surges 4%

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal, PSU Bank, and Bank indices advanced 25 per cent, 40 per cent, and 20 per cent, respectively during the February F&O series

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MARKET WRAP | Markets | Sensex

SI Reporter  | New Delhi 

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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Stock market updates: After a volatile trade on Wednesday, domestic players witnessed a lacklustre on Thurday. Equity benchmark indices remained parked near day's high for better part of the day, cooling off marginally only during the last hour of trade.

Strong gains in Reliance Industries, TCS, Axis Bank, NTPC, and IndusInd Bank helped the headline S&P BSE Sensex to settle the F&O series for the month of February at 51,039 levels, up 258 points or 0.5 per cent. With a 4.8 per cent gain, NTPC remained the top performing stock on the Sensex today, followed by up to 4.4 per cent gains in ONGC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Power Grid.

On the downside, ICICI Bank, that dipped 2 per cent on profit booking, ended the session as the top drag. Nestle India , L&T, Titan Company, HUL, UltraTech Cement, and HDFC were some of the other top losers.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index failed to reclaim the 15,100-mark on the closing basis and ended at 15,097 levels, up 115 points or 0.47 per cent. 

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE SmallCap index outperformed its large-cap peer today with a close at 20,305 levels, up 1.4 per cent. The index hit a record high of 20,321 points in Thursday's intra-day trade and surpassed its previous high of 20,183 touched on January 15, 2018. With the rise in markets and having tasted success, most experts believe that the interest of retail investors in the markets, especially the small-caps is here to stay – at least for now. READ MORE

The S&P BSE MidCap index, on the other hand, settled at 20,334 levels, up 1 per cent.

Among individual sectors, metal counters staged a stellar show with the Nifty Metal index closing 4 per cent higher. That apart, the Nifty Realty index closed with 1.7 per cent gains while the Nifty PSU Bank, Pharma, and Auto indices ended 1 per cent higher each.

February F&O series Wrap
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty50 index have gained 8 per cent during the February series, underperforming the broader markets where the Nifty MidCap 100 and the Nifty SmallCap 100 jumped 11 per cent each.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal, PSU Bank, and Bank indices advanced 25 per cent, 40 per cent, and 20 per cent, respectively while the Nifty Auto index gained 4 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty IT and FMCG indices slipped around 2 per cent each.

Global markets
World stocks jumped on Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed interest rates would stay low for a long time. In Asia, MSCI's ex-Japan Asia-Pacific shares index rose 1.5 per cent while Japan's Nikkei gained 1.7 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.5 per cent.

In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4 per cent, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 per cent, while Spain's CAC advanced 0.45 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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