MUMBAI, India — Indian equity markets ended Friday on a firm note, supported by steady buying in heavyweight stocks, a stronger rupee, and positive sentiment following the market debut of ICICI Prudential AMC.
The Sensex opened with a positive gap of about 275 points and continued to build momentum through the session. The index touched an intraday high of 85,067.50 before closing 447.55 points higher, or 0.5 percent up, at 84,929.
The Nifty also traded firmly, climbing to a session high of 25,993 before settling at 25,966, a gain of 151 points.
“Given the recent rebound and a breakout above the falling trend line, a Santa rally in the coming week looks possible, which may propel Nifty towards the 26,200 mark. On the downside, key support is positioned around 25,700,” market experts said.
Among Sensex constituents, Bharat Electronics, Power Grid Corporation, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the top gainers, rising more than 2 percent each. Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and Infosys also posted gains of around 1 percent.
HCL Technologies was the biggest laggard, slipping about 1 percent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and TCS were the only other Sensex stocks to end the session in negative territory.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advancing around 1.3 percent each. Market breadth remained positive, with nearly two stocks advancing for every one that declined on the BSE.
The Indian rupee also ended the session stronger, closing at 89.25 against the U.S. dollar after a late-session surge, adding to the overall positive market sentiment.
“While sentiment remains constructive, near-term volatility may persist amid uncertainty over trade deal timelines and upcoming macroeconomic data releases,” market participants said. (Source: IANS)
