BSE Sensex gains over 145 Points; Bank Stocks rise

A slew of reforms announced by the government and relief from Greece crisis led a barometer index of the Indian equity markets to close with healthy gains on Friday.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed the day’s trade with gains of over 145 points or 0.53 percent.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the positive territory. It was up by 40 points or 0.47 percent at 8,484.90 points.

The 30-scrip S&P BSE Sensex, which opened at 27,973.12 points, closed at 28,092.79 points, up 146.99 points or 0.53 percent from its previous day’s close at 27,945.80 points.

The BSE Sensex touched a high of 28,135.43 points and a low of 27,897.45 points so far in the trade.

“The partial relief from the Greece crisis, at least till Sunday. Announcements by the government on the capex front, Digital India campaign and a slew of positive macro numbers supported the market rally,” said Anand James, co-head technical research desk, Geojit BNP Paribas.

“There is also hope of better first quarter (Q1) numbers due to be released soon. Factors like lower inflation, easing of monetary policy and stable rupee are expected to be translated into better Q1 numbers,” James added.

Gaurav Jain, director of Hem Securities, said: “Markets shut on a strong note, the buying continued till the last leg on the optimism that Greece crisis will be resolved and it will not have much of an impact on Indian equities.”

“Further, renewed buying interest of foreign portfolio investors, after the last month selling, has boosted the sentiments,” Jain added.

Even the fall in crude oil prices on Thursday from $59 per barrel in the futures market to below $57 per barrel brought some cheer to the Indian markets.

India is a major importer of crude oil, with over 70 percent of its demand met by imports. The crude oil’s sharp fall follows the US data showing higher inventory rise.

Analysts added that the fall in China’s equity market and news of the improvement in the Indian government’s spending are providing support to the markets.

During Friday’s intra-day trade, healthy buying took place in bank, capital goods, healthcare, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables sectors.

The S&P BSE bank index augmented by 162.99 points, capital goods index increased by 101.40 points, healthcare index rose by 67.53 points, FMCG index gained by 35.99 points and capital goods index was up by 35.60 points.

The S&P BSE metal index was lower by 138.67 points, followed by automobile index which fell by 74.33 points, oil and gas index declined by 27.20 points and realty index was down 7.74 points.

The major Sensex gainers in Friday’s trade were: HDFC, up 2.53 percent at Rs.1,316.05; Hero MotoCorp, up 1.77 points at Rs.2,577.80; Lupin, up 1.64 percent at Rs.1,900.45; HDFC Bank, up 1.61 percent at Rs.1,074.45; and BHEL, up 1.08 percent at Rs.258.30.

The major Sensex losers were: Vedanta, down 1.93 percent at Rs.170.65; Coal India, down 1.63 percent at Rs.417.15; Tata Steel, down 1.13 percent at Rs.300.95; Wipro, down 0.98 percent at Rs.549.85; and Tata Motors, down 0.74 percent at Rs.433.35.

Among the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei gained by 0.08 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index went down by 5.84 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng decreased by 0.83 percent.

In Europe, the London FTSE 100 index receded by 0.39 percent, the French CAC 40 was lower by 0.34 percent and Germany’s DAX Index inched down by 0.02 percent at the closing bell. (IANS)