Stock Markets Close: Nifty Ends Above 21,700, Sensex Settles Beyond 72,000

The Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices led the gains and climbed 0.84 per cent and 0.67 per cent respectively during the day

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday, closed trading in green, continuing the trend for the second consecutive day. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed over 150 points to close at 72,026.15, while the NSE Nifty50 jumped just above 50 points to settle at 21,710.80. 

On the 30-share Sensex platform, L&T, TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, and Hindustan Unilever emerged as the prime gainers. On the flip side, Nestle, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Sun Pharma were among the losers during the day. 

In the broader markets, the indices closed trading majorly in green. The Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices led the gains and climbed 0.84 per cent and 0.67 per cent respectively during the day. The Nifty Next 50 index remained the only laggard and closed trading at a loss of 0.12 per cent.

 

Sectorally, the Nifty Realty continued to rally and hit a fresh 52 week high during the day, and ended trading at a gain of 0.36 per cent. Among the gainers, the Nifty IT index led and climbed 1.29 per cent in the day. On the other hand, the Nifty Heatlhcare and PSU Bank indices led the losses and ended lower by 0.65 per cent and 0.38 per cent respectively. 

The services sector in India in December logged sharp rise in growth as it touched a three-month high of 59, backed by favourable economic conditions and positive demand trends. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 56.9 in November to 59 in December, showcasing an increase in output, that was the most pronounced since September.

In the previous trading session on Thursday, the two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, attempted recovery of the week’s market sessions and closed trading in green. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed nearly 500 points to close at 71,847.57, while the NSE Nifty50 jumped nearly 150 points to settle at 21,658.60. 

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.94 per cent to $78.32 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,513.41 crore on Thursday, exchange data revealed.

The domestic rupee appreciated 8 paise to settle at 83.16 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. The Indian currency touched 83.23 against the greenback earlier in the day. On Thursday, the domestic unit closed at 83.24 against the American dollar.