IT stocks send market to the moon: Sensex settles above 66k for first time; TCS, Infosys jump up to 5%

Domestic equity markets continued to move higher on Friday and ended the week with big gains. IT stocks led the rally following better-than-expected earnings, while other sectors played second fiddle. BSE's barometer settled above 66,000 for the first time. Buying of global funds is also supporting the headline indices.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex surged more than 502 points, or 0.77 per cent, to end at 66,060.90, while NSE's Nifty50 gained 150.75 points, or 0.78 per cent, to close at 19,564.50. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained over a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX dropped more than 2 per cent to 10.68-levels.

Markets ended the final session on a strong note. After the initial uptick, Nifty traded muted in the middle but a sharp surge in the last half an hour completely changed the tone. Nifty settled at new highs. Most sectors ended higher wherein IT pack was the highlight, followed by metal and realty pack, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking. "It is a firm close but we need sustainability above 19,550 in Nifty for continuation of the up move. The prevailing buoyancy in global markets combined with rotational buying across sectors is favoring the same. We thus reiterate our positive view and suggest focusing on identifying quality stocks across sectors," he said. All the sectoral indices settled higher for the day. The Nifty IT and media indices surged 4 per cent each, while the Nifty realty and metal indices rose more than a per cent each. Nifty PSU bank, pharma and FMCG indices added about a per cent each at the end of the session. In the Nifty50 pack, Tata Consultancy Services topped among the gainers and surged over 5 per cent each. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindTree and HCL Technologies gained 4 per cent each for the day. Hindalco, Eichers Motors and Wipro rose 3 per cent each. Among the gainers, HDFC Life Insurance Company dropped more than 2 per cent, while Power Grid, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Ultratech Cement declined about a per cent each. Titan Company, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the other key losers. The controlled inflation in the US has instilled optimism among investors that a 25-bps rate hike would be adequate to stabilise the US economy, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "This improved prospect has contributed to the strong buying of Indian IT stocks despite muted Q1 earnings. Furthermore, the broad-based rally in the domestic market was supported by India's consecutive third month decrease in wholesale prices, along with the positive involvement of FIIs," he said. A total of 3,567 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,228 settled with gains. 1,193 stocks ended the session with gains while 146 shares remained unchanged. A total of 156 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 102 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. Among the gainers, Pix Transmissions, Precision Camshafts and Subex hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent each. Take Solutions jumped 13 per cent, while Craftsman Automation and JBM Auto gained 12 per cent each. GRM Overseas, Zee Media Corporation and Snowman Logistics surged 10 per cent each. Among the losers, Orient Electric dropped 7 per cent, while Black Box and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders declined about 5 per cent for the day. 5Paisa Capital shed 4 per cent, while Data Patterns and PTC Industries were down 3 per cent each.