Closing Bell: Sensex jumps 203 points, Nifty up 49 points

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start, as traders took support with a private report stating that the Indian economy’s recovery from the pandemic, as well as the pace of the economy, is better as compared to global peers. Markets continued to trade higher even after International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the strong recovery in South Asia is expected to take a breather with India’s economy expanding at 6.8% in FY23, revised down by 1.4% since April 2022, due to a weaker recovery in the second quarter.

Extending its rally to the day high of 60,133.17, the Sensex closed 203.01 points or 0.34% higher at 59,959.85  points. The Nifty rose 49.85 points or 0.28% to settle at 17,786.80 points. 

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The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.41%, while the Small-cap index was down by 0.62%. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.66%, Energy up by 1.20%, Oil and Gas up by 0.76%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.32% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.25%, while Metal by 1.44%,  Commodities down by 1.08%, IT down by 0.76%, Bankex down by 0.72% and Telecommunication down by 0.55% were the losing indices on BSE.

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Top gainers from the Sensex pack were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.95%, Reliance Industries up by 3.10%, NTPC up by 2.08%, Power Grid up by 1.61% and Mahindra and Mahindra up by 1.40%.

Among the laggards were Tata Steel down by 2.54%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.53%, Sun Pharma down by 2.16%, ICICI down by 1.76% and SBI down by 1.52%.

The rupee fell 15 paise to close at 82.48 against the US dollar on Friday.

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Asian markets settled mostly lower with the Hang Seng down by 3.66%, the Nikkei 225 down by 0.88%, Shanghai Composite down by 2.25% and the KOSPI Composite down by 0.89%.

European stock exchanges were trading in the negative territory in mid-session deals. The US equity markets ended on a mixed note on Thursday.

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Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark declined 0.84% to $96.15 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth a net of Rs  2,818.40 crore on Thursday.