NEW DELHI: The bulls had the last laugh on D-Street on Friday as the financial year punctuated by spells of selloff drew to a close.
The BSE benchmark Sensex rose 17 per cent in 2018-19 while the broader NSE Nifty gained 15 per cent.
Of late, a pre-poll election rally has driven the Sensex 7 per cent up in March alone.
This was Sensexs best gains in four financial years. The 30-share benchmark had jumped 24.89 per cent in FY15.
Firm global cues offered solid support. World shares rode on optimism of progress in trade talks between the United States and China.
Rupee too did not disappoint against the dollar, riding on the back of strong FII inflows and selling in dollars by banks and exporters.
The 30-share pack Sensex closed higher by 127 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 38,673. The index jumped 285 points in the past one week.
NSE barometer Nifty closed above the 11,600 mark at 11,624, up 54 points or 0.47 per cent.
Market at a glance
From the Sensex team, Vedanta, Tata Steel, M&M, Tata Motors and ONGC led the upside, rising up to 3.20 per cent. However, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank and NTPC lost out big.
For the week, YES Bank (up 9 per cent), IndusInd Bank (up 6 per cent) and Adani Ports & SEZ (up 6 per cent) were the big hitters while Tata Motors (down 5 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 3 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (down 3 per cent) lost face.
"Indian markets remained upbeat as the latest opinion polls continued to suggest a likely return of the NDA government, progress in US-China trade negotiations and a dovish outlook from the US Federal reserve despite rising risks of a global slowdown as reflected in global bond yields," said Sanjeev Zarabade, Vice President – PCG research, Kotak securities.
Midcap and smallcap indices beat the Sensex during the day. The BSE Midcap index closed 0.99 per cent higher while Smallcap rose 0.73 per cent.
However, for 2018-19, the performance of midcaps and smallcaps falls short of the crease. While the Midcap shed 3.03 during the said period, the Smallcap index tanked 11.57 per cent.
Sectorally, only FMCG, Bankex and Utilites declined. Metals and Basic Material jumped over 2 per cent each and were sectoral leaders.
For March, Bank Nifty rallied as much as 13.58 per cent.
MSTC, which made market debut today, ended on a diffident note. The scrip closed at Rs 114.20 per share, a 5.80 per cent discount to its issue price.
Let's talk about factors.
Trade optimism plays out
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held “constructive” talks in Beijing, he said on Friday, concluding the latest round of dialogue aimed at resolving the trade dispute between the worlds two largest economies. Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-fRead More – Source
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