Share Market Today: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday are trading flat amid volatility, tracking tepid global cues. At 11 am, the BSE Sensex is marginally up by 20 points to 75,438. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,974 up 6 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, UltraCemco, L&T, Airtel, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance were among the gainers. On the down side, TCS, ITC, M&M, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, and Asian Paints emerged losers.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index dropped 0.1 per cent, while the Smallcap gained 0.2 per cent.
Sectoral update
Sectorally, capital goods, oil & gas, power are leading, while auto, FMCG, pharma, IT, realty are slipping in the red.
In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE Sensex closed at an all-time peak of 75,418.04, up by 1,197 points. The NSE Nifty inched closer to the 23,000 mark during the day on Thursday. The 50-issue index went up by 369.85 points or 1.64 per cent to 22,968.
"Yesterday, Nifty neared the 23,000 mark, driven by investor optimism about the current regime's continuation in the upcoming general elections," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
Global update
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading lower. Wall Street ended in negative territory on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.05 per cent to $81.40 a barrel.
Rupee rises 12 paise
Meanwhile, the rupee gained by 12 paise to 83.17 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a bullish trend in domestic equities, wherein benchmark indices scaled new peaks. Forex traders attributed the rally to Rs 2.11 lakh crore record dividend by the RBI to the government for the fiscal ended March 31. It was more than double the budgeted expectation, helping shore up revenue ahead of a new government taking office.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.26 and gained further ground to trade at 83.17 against the greenback, registering a gain of 12 paise from its previous closing level.
The forex market was closed on Thursday on account of 'Buddha Purnima'. On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated by 2 paise to settle at 83.29 against the US dollar.