Bourses maintain pace for 3rd day, bank, infra & FMCG stocks shine
Mumbai: The Sensex and Nifty marched higher for the third session on the trot on Friday as investors continued to accumulate banking, infrastructure and FMCG stocks despite unabated selling by foreign funds.
Investors have become richer by over Rs 6.30 lakh crore in three days of market rally, with the BSE benchmark Sensex climbing over 1,300 points during this time.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex advanced 303.38 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 54,481.84. The broader NSE Nifty went higher by 87.70 points or 0.54 per cent to 16,220.60.
Larsen & Toubro was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 4.72 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's, Bharti Airtel and Nestle India.
In contrast, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, Wipro and Asian Paints were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.62 per cent.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex advanced 1,573.91 points or 2.97 per cent, while the Nifty climbed 468.55 points or 2.97 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge went higher by 0.28 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.20 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, capital goods jumped 2.23 per cent, followed by power (1.71 per cent), utilities (1.58 per cent), industrials (1.51 per cent), bank (0.66 per cent) and FMCG (0.54 per cent).
Metal, basic materials and telecom were the laggards.
Global equities were mixed as investors awaited key jobs data from the US, which will offer clues on the Federal Reserve's rate hike trajectory.
In Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul ended higher, while Shanghai settled marginally lower.
Bourses in Europe were trading lower in mid-session deals. The US markets had ended higher on Thursday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.12 per cent to $ 104.5 per barrel.
The rupee declined by 13 paise to close at 79.26 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 925.22 crore, as per exchange data.
