Domestic equity markets extended its gains for the second straight session and settled higher on Friday. Headline indices opened higher and gave up early gains to slip in red. However, buying in the IT and auto counters led the rebound from lower levels and indices settled with mild gains. For the day, BSE's Sensex added 178.58 points, or 0.25per cent, to settle at 72,026.15. NSE's Nifty50 gained 52.20 points, or 0.24 per cent, to end the day at 21,710.80. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap index rose in line with the headline peers, while the BSE smallcap index advanced 0.6 per cent. Fear gauge tumbled about 5.25 per cent to 12.63-mark. Markets traded volatile and ended marginally higher amid mixed cues. After the initial uptick, Nifty drifted gradually lower and oscillated in a range till the end. Meanwhile, a mixed trend continued on the sectoral front wherein recovery in IT majors and follow-up buying in select heavyweights kept the traders occupied, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking. "Nifty is likely to spend some more time within the 21,500-21,800 zone citing mixed cues but tone is likely to remain positive. Traders should thus maintain their focus on stock selection and risk management. In absence of any major event, the performance of the global indices especially US would remain in the focus for cues in the coming sessions," he said. On a sectoral front, the Nifty IT index gained more than a per cent. The Nifty auto and realty indices also posted some decent gains for the day. Among the laggards, The Nifty healthcare index shed about two-third a per cent, while the Nifty PSU Bank and pharma indices were other key losers.
Also read: Hot stocks on January 5: YES Bank, Subex, Alok Industries, Jupiter Wagons and more In the Nifty50 pack, Adani Ports surged about 2.65 per cent, while Larsen & Toubro gained 2.60 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services and SBI Life Insurance Company gained 2 per cent each. On the downside, Britannia Industries and Nestle India shed 1.6 per cent each, while JSW Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped a per cent each. The market ended on a flat note, tracking weak global cues, with the US 10-year yield edging higher ahead of the release of US payroll data later today, which may shape the expectation for the FED policy, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. "Investors are also staying cautious ahead of eurozone inflation data today. On the domestic front, the market is moving towards the results season, and we expect the exuberance of the broader index may be tested if the December quarter earnings do not justify the valuation," he said. A total of 3,936 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,222 settled with gains. 1,612 stocks ended the session with cuts while 102 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 468 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 125 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, Alok Textiles surged about 20 per cent, while Mirza International gained more than 19 per cent. Subex advanced about 15 per cent, while GE Power India rose as much as 12 per cent. Among the laggards, Andrew Yule & Company shed 7 per cent, while Gujarat Fluorochemicals and Grauer & Weil (Indian) shed 5 per cent each.
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