Indian equity markets continued Friday's buoyancy and scaled the new highs during the special trading session on Saturday, which was conducted between 9.15 am to 10 am.
The next session will be conducted from 11.30 and will finally conclude at 12.30 pm.
BSE Sensex scaled new highs of 73,982.12, while Nifty50 climbed to 22,400-mark for the first time. The 30-share pack Sensex jumped more than 114.91 points or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 73,860.26, while NSE's Nifty50 added 56.25 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 22,395.
Buying was seen in broader markets too as the BSE smallcap index added 0.6 per cent, while the BSE midcap index rose one-third per cent during the session. Fear gauge India VIX eased more than a per cent to 15.05-level, while the Nifty private bank index was the only laggard in the first half.
The US market showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Friday, adding to the gains posted in Thursday's session. With the extended upward move, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new record closing highs, said Avdhut Bagkar Technical and Derivatives Analyst at StoxBox.
"The Nifty 50 index hit a new all-time high on Friday, triggering fresh upside for March. This move must exhibit suitability over 22,250, to demonstrate a build of long sentiment," he said. "Upon delivering consecutive closes over 22250, this trend may head in the direction of 22,500 and 22750 levels. Immediate support emerges at 21,800 – 21,700 range.
In the NIfty50 pack, Hero MotoCorp rose over 1.5 per cent, while Tata Steel gained 1.4 per cent. Tata Motors rose another 1.25 per cent to hit new highs and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise added over a per cent. Among the laggards, Mahindra & Mahindra shed half a per cent, while NTPC, Grasim Industries and Axis Bank were down 0.3 per cent each.
In the broader markets, Tata Investments, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries,, Jubilant Industries, Warree Renewable Technologies, PNC Infratech, Zen Technologies and Data Patterns India rose 5 per cent each. Among the laggards, Gensol Engineering and Sigachi Industries were down 5 per cent each.
BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), are open on Saturday for special two-sessions, conducted to test the disaster preparedness of the stock market in case of an emergency. The second session will be conducted after a break from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm. The markets will close at 12.30.
Trading will take place in the cash market and F&O segment, but circuit filters of all stocks will be revised to 5 per cent during the special session. However, securities under 2 per cent circuit filter shall continue to trade in their respective filter band, said the exchanges.