Stock Market: Sensex Rises 206 Points, Nifty Trades Above 18,200 Amid Positive Cues. Banks, Metals Gain

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Tata Motors, Titan, and others emerged winners

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday opened higher in early trade tracking strong global cues.

At 9.40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 206 points to 61,340, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 18,248, up 58 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Tata Motors, Titan, and others emerged winners. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Asian Paint, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, and others were the main losers.

Among individual stocks, shares of HG Infra surged over 6 per cent after the company bagged LoA from the NHAI for a six-lane road in Haryana. Shares of Craftsman Automation gained over 4 per cent after the company acquired 76 percent of the total equity in DR Axion.

The overall market breadth of the BSE Sensex during early trade stood positive as 1,785 stocks were advancing, while 1,697 were declining.

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices advanced up to 1 per cent.

All sectors started trade on a positive note, with Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Metal, and Nifty IT indices rising up to 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed day’s trade at 61,134, up 224 points while the broader NSE Nifty50 ended at 18,191, up 68 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 16 paise to 82.71 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking a firm trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.77 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch 82.71, registering a rise of 16 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 7 paise lower at 82.87 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.13 per cent to $83.35 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 572.78 crore, according to exchange data.