Sensex, Nifty snap three sessions of losing streak; consumer durables, metals top gainers

Indian market ended the week on a positive note on Friday amid positive global cues. Benchmark indices snapped three sessions of losing streak after the Reserve Bank of India maintained status quo on the benchmark lending rate amid buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries Limited and ITC.

Sensex climbed 412.23 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 59,447.18. During the day, the index hit a high of 59,654.44 and a low of 58,876.36.

Nifty rose 144.80 points or 0.82 per cent to finish at 17,784.35.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept borrowing costs unchanged at a record low for the 11th time in a row to continue supporting economic growth despite inflation edging higher in the aftermath of Russia's war in Ukraine.

RBI's six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold the benchmark repurchase or the repo rate at 4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

"Market was cautious during the last 2-3 days ahead the RBI meet and its future policy stance. Measures being in-line with market expectations led to a relief rally. The focus has shifted to the Q4 earnings season, which will start next week, initiated by the IT and Banking sector," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Share Market updates: Sensex rises 412 points, Nifty ends above 17,750; ITC, Dr Reddy's, M&M top gainers

ITC, Dr Reddy's, M&M, Titan, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Asian Paints were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 4.36%.

Tech Mahindra, Maruti, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.31%.

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 22 ended higher.

On the other hand, consumer durables and metal shares were the top sectoral gainers with their BSE indices gaining 533 points and 451 points, respectively.

BSE midcap and small cap indices rose 233 points and 291 points, respectively.

The market breadth was positive with 2293 shares ending higher against 1092 stocks in the red. 124 shares were unchanged.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to 274.10 lakh crore today.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew Rs 5,009 crore from equities on a net basis on Thursday amid a fall in the market, according to stock exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee rose 13 paise to settle at 75.90 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, amid the Reserve Bank of India maintaining status quo on the benchmark lending rate.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 75.99 against the US dollar and touched an intra-day high of 75.70 and finally closed at 75.90, registering a rise of 13 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session, Indian equity market fell for the third straight session, tracking heavy losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, TCS and Reliance Industries amid weak global cues.

Sensex slumped 575.46 points to end at 59,034 and Nifty declined 168.10 points to 17,639.55.

Markets in Asia in Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended in the green today. Stocks in the US also ended higher in the overnight session. International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.65 per cent to $101.2 per barrel.