Sensex climbs 190 pts; Nifty settles near 22,100; Hero MotoCorp rises 4%; IT stocks tumble

Domestic equity markets settled with gains on Friday, ending the week on a positive note. However, the gains were trimmed short by the selling pressure in IT counters, which were hit hard after Accenture cut its guidance. On the other hand, buying in all other sectors supported the sentiments at Dalal Street.

The BSE Sensex gained 190.75 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 72,831.94, while NSE's Nifty50 jumped 84.80 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 22,096.75 for the day. Broader markets outperformed the headline indices as the BSE midcap index rose 0.36 per cent, while the BSE smallcap index rose over a per cent for the day. Fear gauge India VIX eased over 2.33 per cent to 12.22-mark.

The benchmark indices witnessed a volatile trading session, after a roller coaster activity. During the week, the market slipped below the 50-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) but in the last two days on the backdrop of strong global cues it bounced back sharply, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

"Technically, the index has formed a promising reversal formation and currently it is comfortably trading above the 50-day SMA that is largely positive. For the traders now, as long as it is trading above 50-day SMA or 21,950 the positive momentum is likely to continue. Above the same, the market could rally till 22,220-22,350," he said.

On a sectoral front, only the Nifty IT index, which tanked 2.33 per cent, was the laggards. All other sectoral indices ended in green. The Nifty realty index rose over 1.75 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index rose over 1.67 per cent. The Nifty media, pharma and healthcare indices rose 1.25 per cent each for the day.

In the Nifty50 pack, Hero MotoCorp rose 3.94 per cent, while Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharma gained 3.32 per cent and 3.25 per cent each for the day. UPL and Apollo Hospital Enterprises rose 3 per cent each. LTIMindTree tanked 2.95 per cent, while Infosys shed 2.8 per cent for the day. Wipro and HCL Tech also dropped more than 2.4 per cent each.

Markets displayed volatility but managed to end higher amid gains in realty, telecom and auto stocks whereas IT stocks faltered sharply after Accenture slashed its full-year revenue guidance which renewed concerns of the sector in an uncertain global environment, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities.

A total of 3,906 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,432 settled with gains. 1,374 stocks ended the session with cuts while 100 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 387 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 216 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

The domestic market swiftly rebounded from an initial downturn and maintained a positive trajectory throughout the day, buoyed by favourable global cues driven by dovish comments from the BoE and buying activity at lower levels in the wake of a recent sell-off, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"Additionally, the retreat of crude oil prices from recent highs contributed to the positive sentiment. While most sectors experienced gains, the IT remained in the red due to subdued guidance from Accenture, a major global IT player," he said.

In the broader markets, eMudhra surged more than 18 per cent, while Vadilal Industries gained about 17 per cent. JSW Holdings rose over 16 per cent, while Skipper added more than 14 per cent. Prakash Industries, Allcargo Logistics and Deep Industries jumped 13 per cent, each while Manoj Vaibhav Gems N Jewellers rose over 11 per cent for the day.

Among the laggards, Rama Steel Tubes, Tata Investment Corporation and MK Proteins hit lower circuits of 5 per cent each. Technocraft Industries and Jubilant Industries were down 4.5 per cent each. Steel Strip Wheels and AGS Transactions tumbled 4 per cent each for the day.