Sensex reclaims Mt 46K, ends 139 points higher; Nifty above 13,500; ONGC gains 5%

After a fall on Thursday, the benchmark equity indices resumed their upward movement on Friday on the back of buying in FMCG, financial and power counters amid sustained inflows by foreign institutional investors.

The BSE Sensex settled 139.13 points, or 0.30 per cent, higher at 46,099. The index hit its all-time high of 46,309.63 during the day. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty index rose 35.55 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 13,513.85. It hit a fresh lifetime high of 13,579.35.

ONGC emerged as the top gainer in the Sensex pack, closing 5.57 per cent higher at Rs 96.70. It was followed by NTPC (up 5.24 per cent), Tata Steel (up 1.90 per cent), ICICI Bank (up 1.74 per cent) and ITC (up 1.50 per cent).


On the other hand, some selling in Axis Bank (down 2.30 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.04 per cent) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.73 per cent) capped the upside.

Market at a glance:

• SpiceJet, Snowman Logistics jump on pact for transporting Covid-19 vaccine
  
• Nifty Metal top sectoral gainer, gains 1.06%
  
• IDBI Bank gains 0.86% as LIC asked to consider exiting its stake
  
• Over 100 NSE stocks scale new 52-week high

In the previous session, Sensex closed nearly 144 points down at 45,959.88. The broader Nifty settled nearly 51 points lower at 13,478.30.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,259.98 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE Smallcap index outpaced other major indices. The index closed 0.51 per cent higher at 17,552, while the BSE Midcap index settled 0.15 per cent up at 17,521.

JP Power, Ajmera Realty, TVS Electronics, TVS Srichakra and Shalimar Paints were among the top gainers in the smallcap space, rising in the range of 14-20 per cent.

We witnessed a renewed interest in PSU names across sectors on hopes of divestment and dividend expectations from cash-rich PSU companies. Bouts of profit booking was seen in afternoon trade across sectors and stocks that seem healthy for the markets.

-S Ranganathan, Head of Research, LKP Securities

With a fall of between 5-7 per cent, Magma Fincorp, Ramky Infra, Datamatics Global and Indostar Capital were among the top losers in the index.

Sectorally, the BSE Utilities index gained the most, up 1.93 per cent to 1,807.60. The BSE Oil & Gas, Power, Metal, FMCG and Realty indices, too, gained between 0.80 per cent and 1.70 per cent. However, Healthcare, TECk and IT declined over 0.25 per cent.

Overall, the market breadth remained in favour of bulls, with 1,748 stocks on the BSE ending the day in the green. On the other hand, some 1,220 stocks settled with cuts. As many as 131 securities on the NSE hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, just four counters including Accuracy Shipping, Jump Networks, Pricol and Vishal Fabrics hit 52-week lows.

European shares were trading with cuts. In Asia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan ended the day on a mixed note.