After bouts of volatility in the last two trading sessions, markets took a breather on Friday and traded flat for better part of the day. While financial and banking counters traded in the sea of red throughout the day, index heavyweights like Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel, that surged 3 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively in the intra-day trade today, provided the necessary support.
In the intra-day trade, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 42063.93. At close, the 30-share index was at 41,945.37 level, up 12.81 points or 0.031 per cent. Bharti Airtel, that gained over 6 per cent today, was the top gainer at close. The stock hit an over 2-year high of Rs 503.60 on the BSE amid expectations that the telecom company is poised for strong market share gain if payment due to AGR makes Vodafone Idea exit the industry. On the downside, IndusInd Bank was the top loser, down 2 per cent, due to its high exposure towards telecom companies.
On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled 3.15 points, or 0.025 per cent, lower at 12,352.35-mark. Nifty Bank, financial services, metals and IT indices settled the day in the negative territory. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma gained nearly 2 per cent.
For the week, the Sensex has advanced 0.9 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 has gained 0.8 per cent. Nifty mid-cap index, meanwhile, has risen 4 per cent during the week.
The party in the broader markets continued for the ninth straight session. The S&P BSE mid-cap index was up 0.5 per cent at 15,703 level. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE small-cap index ended at 14,708.70 level, up 0.42 per cent.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares rose on Friday after Q4 GDP data in China, for calendar year 2019, showed pressure on the world’s second biggest economy may be starting to diminish. The news along with easing trade tensions with the United States underpinned riskier assets, even as some markets took a breather in late afternoon trade.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.18 per cent in afternoon trade, while China’s blue-chip index ended 0.14 per cent higher.
Australian shares added 0.32 per cent to a fifth consecutive record high close, and Seoul’s KOSPI rose 0.11 per cent.
In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.4 per cent, German DAX futures gained 0.54 per cent and FTSE futures added 0.28 per cent.
(With inputs from Reuters)