Stock Market Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty End On A High Note, Media Gains Over 2%

On the 30-share Sensex platform, ITC, NTPC, Axis Bank, L&T, and Bajaj Finance emerged as prime gainers. On the downside, M&M, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Bank, and Tech M were among the losers.

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday, ended trading on a high note, boosted by the GDP data for the second quarter, released a day earlier, which beat analysts’ estimates. The BSE Sensex rallied almost 500 points to close at 67,481.19, while the NSE Nifty50 continued its streak above the 20,000 mark for the third consecutive trading session. The Nifty50 reached a fresh record high and touched 20,291.55, before closing at 20,267.90, up by 134.75 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, ITC, NTPC, Axis Bank, L&T, and Bajaj Finance emerged as prime gainers. On the downside, M&M, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Bank, and Tech M were among the losers.

The broader markets closed trading mostly in green, with the Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Midcap 100 up by 1.10 per cent each, while the Nifty Microcap 50 index slipped 0.01 per cent.

Sectorally, most of the indices ended in the green. The Nifty Media index led the indices and soared 2.57 per cent during the day, followed by the Nifty PSU Bank up by 1.86 per cent, and the Nifty FMCG index which gained 1.58 per cent. 

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 86.53 points to close at 66,988.44. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled above the 20,000-mark for the second consecutive trading session at 20,133.15. Among specific stocks on the Nifty, ITC registered gains of over 3 per cent, followed by NTPC and Axis Bank which saw gains of 2.93 per cent and 2.68 per cent respectively.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,147.85 crore on Thursday, exchange data revealed. The domestic rupee appreciated 7 paise to close at 83.30 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, owing to the positive sentiment from the equity markets and robust macroeconomic data.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.29 against the greenback and traded in the range of 83.25 and 83.36, before finally settling at 83.30. The rupee closed at 83.37 against the dollar a day earlier on Thursday. 

In Asian markets, Shanghai settled in the green, while Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended mostly with gains on Thursday.

Among other macroeconomic data, S&P Global India released its monthly survey which stated that the manufacturing sector continued performing strongly in November and is further expected to maintain the momentum owing to the ease in price pressures and strengthening demand from clients. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 56 in November, against 55.5 recorded in October, which aslo marked the eight-month low level for the Indian economy. 

Commenting on the markets, Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, noted, "Most exit polls on Thursday put the BJP ahead in Madhya Pradesh and gave it an edge in Rajasthan while predicting that it was an advantage for Congress in Telangana and Chhattisgarh. Better-than-estimated India GDP numbers will raise the growth outlook for FY24 and provide cheer for the market to continue its upward momentum. The global market too rallied on hopes that the ECB has completed its rate-hiking cycle on the back of easing inflation and ahead of the FED chair speech today.The auto sales numbers witnessed a festival cheer, while the premium valuation restricted the upside potential."