The equity benchmark indices ended higher on Friday , with the broader market gaining for the third straight day, while the Nifty rose 76 points to 23,346 and closed above 23,300 for the first time this week. The Sensex, however, ended 20 points lower at 74,295.
The Nifty Bank gained 303 points to 56,359, while the Midcap Index climbed 759 points to 62,191. Market breadth favoured advances, with the advance-decline ratio at 2:1. HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance support NiftyHDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance helped the Nifty close in positive territory, while TCS and Infosys were the biggest drags.
Non-banking financial company stocks also gained, with Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company rising 1-3%. Housing finance stocks moved higher, with PNB Housing Finance and L&T Finance gaining around 3% each. Auto ancillary stocks surgeAuto ancillary stocks were among the stronger performers.
Sona BLW Precision Forgings gained 4%, NRB Bearings surged 12%, while Indo-MIM rose 7%. Tata Group stocks slideTata Group stocks declined, tracking listing-related newsflow, with the group erasing ₹40,000 crore in market capitalisation. Tata Chemicals slid more than 11% after Tata Trusts opposed the listing of Tata Sons.
Meanwhile, Supreme Industries gained 4% following a positive brokerage note. From the Sensex basket, HDFC Bank Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd, Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bajaj Finance Ltd were the major gainers.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Wipro Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards. The Nifty failed to turn positive for the week despite gaining over the last three sessions, with Tuesday’s sharp fall keeping the index in the red for the week.
The Nifty and Sensex declined 0.3% each for the week, while the Nifty Bank fell 0.4% and the Midcap Index declined 0.3%. Among sectoral indices, FMCG was the top gainer, while defence and consumer durables were the top losing indices. HDFC Life, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, HCLTech and ITC were the top Nifty gainers for the week.
TCS, Titan, Coal India, ICICI Bank and Adani Enterprises were the top Nifty losers. The whole situation in Iran remains very volatile, and that would have probably contributed more than any specific kind of selling for a particular IPO. In fact, even the rebound over the last two days is a little bit surprising, frankly speaking, given that those uncertainties continue to prevail.
Having said that, I think the volatility, yes, as far as what we're telling our clients is concerned, we continue to find individual opportunities. As long as the current situation with high crude prices does not persist for a longer period, and as a result, India does not have to see massive increases in energy costs for the consumer, I think the momentum that we saw in the first-quarter results should continue.
I think that does pose opportunities to invest in many different sectors."