Equity benchmarks traded with marginal gains in the afternoon session on Friday, with lower oil prices and positive global market trends supporting sentiment despite weakness in IT companies and several Tata Group stocks.
At 12.17 pm, the BSE was up 171.81 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 74,486.40, while the 50 gained 48.60 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 23,319.20.
Broader markets rise
Broader markets surged, with the smallcap index outperforming the midcap index. Most sectoral indices traded in the green, led by cement and realty. Nifty IT was the biggest drag, while telecom and consumer durables also traded in the red.
Among Nifty 50 stocks, UltraTech, IndiGo, Shriram Finance, HDFC Bank and Dr Reddy’s were the top gainers. TMPV, TCS, Coal India, Wipro and Infosys were among the biggest drags.
Most Tata Motors, TMPV and TCS.
Midcap, smallcap movers
In the midcap basket, ATGL, Bharat Forge, Exide Industries, Supreme Industries and AB Capital gained 3-12 per cent. Tata Investment, KPIT Tech, Coforge, Mphasis and Federal Bank declined up to 4 per cent.
Among smallcaps, Jyoti CNC, PWL, Poonawalla Fincorp and Welspun Corp rose 3-6 per cent, while Tata Chemicals, FirstCry, Tata Technologies and Afcons fell 3-9 per cent.
Of the 3,434 stocks traded on the NSE, 2,114 advanced, 1,209 declined and 111 remained unchanged. As many as 87 stocks scaled their 52-week highs, while 56 hit 52-week lows. A total of 109 stocks touched their upper circuits and 69 hit their lower circuits.
Global cues
On Thursday, equities closed flat amid cautious global sentiment following the US Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase in more than three years.
Wall Street’s major indices ended higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq gaining 1.1 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, as investors bought technology stocks after Treasury yields and Brent crude prices eased.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy interest rate to 1.25 per cent, its highest level since 1995.