Markets rebound after three-day decline as IT & financial stocks rise on easing inflation worries

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex and Nifty snapped a three-day losing streak to settle higher by over half a per cent on Friday following buying in IT, financials and metal shares on easing inflation worries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 303.15 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 60,261.18. During the day, it jumped 460.23 points or 0.76 per cent to 60,418.26.The broader NSE Nifty rose by 98.40 points or 0.55 per cent to end at 17,956.60.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank and Maruti were among the major winners.

Titan, Nestle, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, ITC and Asian Paints were among the major laggards.

HCL Technologies and Infosys recovered from early losses to end in green.

HCL Tech reported a 19 per cent increase in the consolidated net income to Rs 4,096 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022, driven by growth in services revenue.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge gained 0.22 per cent and midcap index went up marginally by 0.09 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, metal jumped 1.05 per cent, teck climbed 1.05 per cent, power (1.03 per cent), utilities (0.94 per cent), IT (0.86 per cent) and commodities (0.75 per cent). Capital Goods and consumer durables were the laggards.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.38 per cent to $84.35 per barrel.

The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to close at 81.38 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a rebound in crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund

outflows.