Sensex rises 253 points on auto and metal gains, defying foreign outflows

Twelve of the 13 major sectors logged weekly gains, rising between 0.5% and 6.6%. Both the Nifty 50 and S&P BSE gained about 2% this week, their best since the week ended February 2.

Twelve of the 13 major sectors logged weekly gains, rising between 0.5% and 6.6%.

The 30-share benchmark Sensex rose 253 points or 0.34% to settle at 73,917. Meanwhile, the broader NSE climbed by 62 points or 0.28% to end at 22,466.

From the Sensex pack, M&M was the top gainer, rising 6% as its overall March quarter numbers managed to beat Street estimates on most fronts leading to target price hikes and upgrades. , , , ITC, and Maruti also closed higher.

On the other hand, TCS, HCL Tech, HUL, Nestle, and Wipro closed in the red.

fell 0.85%. The drop in US rate-sensitive IT stocks comes after data showed a fall in weekly jobless claims on Thursday, indicating a tight labour market while a rise in US import prices signalled persistent price pressures.

Nifty Auto index jumped 1.7% to an all-time high, led by M&M, Balkrishna Industries, and TV Motor. The broader, more domestically focussed small and midcaps were up 1.65% and 0.9%, respectively.

Triveni Turbine, Info Edge, Dixon Technologies and Kaynes Technologies surged between 4% and 20%, on the back of strong March quarter results, and led the gains in broader markets.

The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 2.86 lakh crore to Rs 410.21 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bulls. About 2,401 stocks gained, 1,413 declined, and 125 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Expert Views

"Despite mixed global signals and uncertainties surrounding the US Fed, the Indian market experienced a robust recovery, largely fuelled by the outperformance of the broader market and positive Q4 earnings. Further, some index heavyweight earnings surpassed expectations, and midcap and continued to exhibit buying interest during dips. Auto and consumer durables particularly stood out with strong earnings momentum," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

Jatin Gedia, technical research analyst at Sharekhan, said, “On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty is steadily inching towards the 22,570 – 22,600 resistance zone. The daily momentum indicator has a positive crossover, which is a buy signal and hence all the intraday dips / minor degree pullback towards the support zone 22,350 – 22,330 should be bought into. We should keep a stop-loss of 22200 for the long positions."

Global Markets

Global stocks eased on Friday after Federal Reserve officials hinted US interest rates may not fall any time soon.

The MSCI All-World index was last down 0.1%, but still near this week's record highs, while in Europe, the STOXX 600, which also hit a record peak this week, was down 0.4%.

Shanghai's CSI 300 ended up 1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index hit its highest since August 2022, up 0.9%.

Crude Oil

Oil prices steadied on Friday, with global benchmark Brent set for its first weekly gain in three weeks as economic indicators from big consumers China and the United States bolstered hopes for higher demand.

China's industrial output rose 6.7% year-on-year in April as recovery in its manufacturing sector gathered pace, accelerating from 4.5% in March and pointing to possibly stronger demand to come.

Brent crude oil rose 5 cents to $83.32 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 3 cents at $79.20.

Rupee Strengthens

The Indian rupee closed higher on Friday after rising to its highest in two weeks, aided by likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and broad-based interbank dollar sales in the latter half of the session.

The rupee ended at 83.3350 against the US dollar, up 0.2% against its previous close at 83.50.

(With inputs from agencies)