Markets extend gains in see-saw trade; metal, banking stocks sparkle

PTI

Mumbai, March 17

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty overcame bouts of volatility to settle in the green for the second straight session on Friday, propped up by robust demand for the metal, banking and financial stocks amid a firm trend in global equities.

Besides, a strengthening rupee and lower crude prices in the international markets also influenced sentiments here, traders said.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 355.06 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 57,989.90. During the day, it hit a high of 58,178.94 and a low of 57,503.90.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 114.45 points or 0.67 per cent to end at 17,100.05.

HCL Tech led the Sensex gainers’ chart, spurting 3.58 per cent, followed by UltraCement, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and HDFC twins.

In contrast, ITC, Maruti, NTPC, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.51 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.29 per cent and smallcap index advanced 0.69per cent.

Markets were volatile and moved with a positive bias as investors resorted to select buying. European indices and other Asian peers accumulated significant gains, which enthused local traders in a big way.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong logged gains.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the green in mid-session deals. Major indices on Wall Street closed in the positive territory in the overnight trade.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.16 per cent to USD 75.57 per barrel.

The rupee settled 18 paise higher at 82.58 against the US dollar on Friday.

India’s banking system is expected to remain unscathed from the troubles in Credit Suisse as it has a very small presence in the country, experts said.

Although Credit Suisse is more relevant to India’s financial system than Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), it has very limited operations, according to a report by Jefferies India.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 282.06 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.