Stock Market: Sensex Surges 320 Points; Nifty Ends Above 19,600. Metal, Pharma Top Gainers

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC became the lead gainer, up 3.30 per cent. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, SBI, UltraCemco were among the other gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday closed higher following fall in crude oil prices globally. The S&P BSE Sensex soared 320 points to end at 65,828. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 quoted 19,638, up 115 points. The domestic indices surged to 66,152 and 19,726 during intraday trading.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC became the lead gainer, up 3.30 per cent. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, SBI, UltraCemco were among the other gainers. On the downside, HCL, PowerGrid, TechM, Infosys, Titan, Nestle emerged losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 1.3 per cent and BSE Smallcap index up 0.6 per cent.

Sectorally, barring Information Technology, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with metal, power, oil & gas, PSU Bank, and healthcare indices went up by 1-2.7 per cent. Nifty Pharma jumped the most, up 2.7 per cent.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex plunged 610 points to 65,508. The NSE Nifty50 ended at 19,524, down 193 points.

In Asian markets, Tokyo ended lower. Markets were closed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Seoul. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended in the green on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.49 per cent to $95.28 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,364.22 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to settle at 83.05 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, boosted by a firm trend in equity markets and a sharp correction in the greenback against major rivals overseas. However, selling pressure from foreign equity investors and rising crude oil prices in international markets weighed on the domestic unit, forex traders said.

The rupee opened strong at 83.13 against the US dollar and moved in the range of 83.03 to 83.13 against the greenback. It finally settled at 83.05 (provisional), registering a gain of 14 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee settled 3 paise higher at 83.19.