Stock Market Rally: Sensex Up 440 Points; Nifty At 21,850 Day After Interim Budget. Metals, IT Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, PowerGrid, NTPC, TCS, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Wipro emerged gainers. On the downside, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, L&T, Titan were among the losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday settled higher, tracking positive global cues, a day after the presentation of the interim Budget. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 440 points higher at 72,086. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 hit a fresh record high of 22,127 before ending at 21,854, up 156 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, PowerGrid, NTPC, TCS, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Wipro emerged gainers. On the downside, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, L&T, Titan were among the losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index gained 0.8 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index added 0.5 per cent.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index gained 2.37 per cent, while the Nifty IT 2.2 jumped per cent. Nifty PSU Bank index went down by 0.5 per cent.

In the previous session on interim Budget Day i.e. Thursday, the Sensex dipped 107 points to end at 71,645.30, while the NSE Nifty50 dropped 28 points to 21,697.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled in the positive zone, while Shanghai and Hong Kong closed in the red. On Thursday, the US markets ended with significant gains on Thursday.

"The bull market at Dalal Street is thriving, fuelled by positive developments such as Wall Street's surge, a 3 per cent drop in WTI oil prices, and the promising interim Union Budget," said Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42 per cent to $79.03 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,879.58 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. 

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 7 paise to close at 82.91 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak greenback against major currencies overseas amid rising appetite for riskier assets.

The interim Budget 2024-25, especially the focus on fiscal prudence, left a positive impact on the domestic currency, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.91 against the greenback. The unit hit an intraday high of 82.82 and a low of 82.93. The local unit finally settled at 82.91 (provisional) against the dollar, higher by 7 paise from its previous close of 82.98.