CLOSING BELL: Sensex Rises 1000 Points, Nifty Inches Closer To 17.5K, Reliance Top Gainer

On Friday, at close, BSE Sensex was trading 1,013.43 points up at 58,991.52 and Nifty50 was trading 279.05 points up at 17,359.75

New Delhi: Indian indices opened on a positive note today aided by an upbeat sentiment in global equities. Sensex rose as much as 59,068.47 and fell to 17,204.65 during the day’s trade. Meanwhile, Nifty touched a high of 17,381.60 and hit a low of 17,204.65

On Friday, at close, BSE Sensex was trading 1,013.43 points up at 58,991.52 and Nifty50 was trading 279.05 points up at 17,359.75

Lakshmi Iyer, CEO-Investment & Strategy, Kotak Investment Advisors Limited said, “Volatility and uncertainty in the global financial markets have increased over the past few weeks, though the ECB and the Fed have delivered 50bps and 25bps hikes respectively in March, as per our expectation. Incremental rate hikes from these two key central banks will depend on how incoming macro data and financial markets conditions evolve over the next few weeks and months.

In India, CPI remains above the 6% threshold, including core inflation which remains sticky. Though CPI is likely to trend lower in the coming months, the probability of 25 bps rate hike in the upcoming MPC seems high. To hike or not to hike could be the most discussed agenda as the clamour for a pause seems to be only growing.”

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said, “Domestic equity markets ended the week on a strong note. For the week, domestic markets closed in the positive territory. Sensex 30 and Nifty 50 index rose more than 2%. BSE Midcap and BSE Small-cap index gained ~ 1-2%. Most of the sectoral indices reported positive gains during the week. However, BSE Power index saw negative returns during the week.”

“Key global equity markets also witnessed a recovery, even though sentiments remained volatile. Euro zone headline inflation slowed to 6.9% in March 2023, down from 8.5% in February 2023. Crude oil price rose this week from the lows witnessed earlier this month. Markets will continue to focus on inflation numbers across key economies and related Central Bank actions. Domestic markets will keenly watch out for RBI policy meet scheduled next week. Over the coming weeks, the market will also start focusing on Q4FY23 earnings season.”

SENSEX TOP GAINERS

• Reliance: 4.19 per cent
• NestleInd: 3.34 per cent
• ICICI Bank: 3.16 per cent
• Infosys: 3.07 per cent
• Tata Motors: 2.86 per cent
• TCS: 2.10 per cent

SENSEX TOP LOSERS

• Sun Pharma: -0.77 per cent
• Asian Paints: -0.27 per cent
• Bajaj Finance: -0.24 per cent
• Titan: -0.05 per cent

NIFTY TOP GAINERS

• Reliance: 4.31 per cent
• NestleInd: 3.29 per cent
• Infosys: 3.05 per cent
• ICICI Bank: 3.04 per cent
• Tata Motors: 2.88 per cent
• TCS: 2.07 per cent

NIFTY TOP LOSERS

• Apollo Hospital: -1.30 per cent
• Sun Pharma: -0.98 per cent
• Adani Ports: -0.74 per cent
• Asian Paints: -0.23 per cent
• Bajaj Finance: -0.18 per cent