Dalal Street also smokes peace pipe, ends in green for 4th week in row

Indian equity indices logged their fourth straight week of gains on Friday as falling crude oil prices, improving geopolitical conditions, and buying at lower levels boosted sentiment. Going ahead, analysts believe the Nifty 50 could climb further.

NSE's Nifty rose 95.15 points Friday, or 0.4%. to close at 24,270.85. BSE's Sensex rose 261.79 points or 0.3% to end at 77,763.91. Both indices ended the week nearly 0.9% higher.

Nifty's Realty, Pharma, Healthcare and Cement indices were the top performers this week, up 2-8%.


"Sentiment has improved on the back of softer crude prices, easing concerns over a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict, and expectations of a better-than-anticipated monsoon," said Aamar Deo Singh, senior vice president, research at Angel One. "We've seen a marginal recovery in the market this week, led by buying interest in banking and auto stocks."

Singh said that, going forward, market direction is likely to be driven by the upcoming first-quarter earnings season, as management commentary will provide cues for the coming months.

On Friday, Nifty's Volatility Index or VIX, a gauge of fear in the markets, fell 4% to 11.8 levels. The index has declined 9.6% this week.

Among broader market indices, the Nifty Midcap 150 dropped 0.2%, and the Nifty Small-cap 250 rose 0.1%. These indices have gained 0.6% and 1.65% over the week, respectively.

Of the 4,441 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,195 advanced and 2,060 declined at day's close.

Bhavya Shah, technical research analyst at Stoxbox, said Nifty's intraday structures on the five-minute chart show prices slipping below short-term moving averages via lower highs and lower lows on expanding volumes.

"Structurally, the index cleared its weekly base above the 50-day moving average, turning the former 24,100 resistance into a key support, backed by psychological support at 24,000," Shah said.

"The outlook for Nifty remains constructive, and the index clearing the 24,500 swing-high resistance will trigger a short-covering toward the 200-day moving average at 24,850," Shah added.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan equities climbed 1.5%, China advanced 0.4%, Hong Kong rose 1.3%, South Korea gained 5.8%, and Taiwan rose 0.1%. The pan-European index Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% at the time of going to print.

Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹1,355 crore, while domestic institutions were sellers to the tune of ₹1,954 crore.