Stock market updates: The benchmark indices witnessed a see-saw trade on Friday as markets failed to breach crucial resistance zones at the higher levels. As per technical charts, if the frontline S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty surpass their psychological levels of 50,000 and 15,000 levels, respectively, then the indices may log a 4-per cent rally in the short-term.
However, with the Covid-19 situation in the country getting grimmer day by day, market participants have stayed on the sidelines. During Friday's session, the Sensex index dropped 250 points from day's high of 49,089 to settle 28 points, or 0.06 per cent higher at 48,832.
The NSE's Nifty50, on the other hand, ended at 14,618 levels, up 36 points or 0.25 per cent. The index had reached an intra-day high of 14,698.
Wipro, which jumped 10 per cent in the intra-day trade and hit a record high of Rs 474 on the NSE, ended as the top gainer (up 9 per cent) on the Nifty after clocking its best performance in the March quarter in a decade. ICICI Securities said that the key highlights of the quarter were healthy deal wins, up 16.7 per cent QoQ, to $1.4 billion, healthy net addition of 7,404 employees, higher offshore up 180 bps to 54.5 per cent.
READ MORE That apart, Hindalco, Asian Paints, Cipla, BPCL, HCL Tech, and UltraTech Cement were the other best performing stocks on the Nifty, up in the range of 2 per cent to 4 per cent. On the downside, Tata Steel, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and JSW Steel slipped up to 2 per cent to end as top drags on the index.
Investor participation in the broader markets, however, remained strong with the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices settling 1.2 per cent and 1.05 per cent higher, respectively.
Sectorally, the Nifty Pharma index ended 2 per cent higher while the Nifty Auto, IT, Metal, and FMCG indices gained between 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, and Realty indices slipped up to 0.6 per cent.
Buzzing stocks
Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services were trading higher for the third straight day, advancing 8 per cent to Rs 976 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday, on the back of heavy volumes. In the past three days, the stock has gained 10 per cent after correcting 22 per cent from its record high level of Rs 1,149 touched on February 24, 2021. According to reports, global lender Citi's exit from retail banking business in India is likely to pave the way for consolidation in the Indian financial sector, eying for an increased market share across business verticals, say analysts. SBI Cards, they believe, could be another beneficiary.
READ MORE Shares of multiplex operators like PVR and Inox Leisure continued to remain under pressure, hitting seven-month lows on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced sweeping restrictions in a bid to break the chain of Covid-19 infections in the city. Among individual stocks, PVR slipped 3 per cent to Rs 1,030, while Inox Leisure dipped 2.5 per cent to Rs 248.45 on the BSE in intra-day trade today. Both these stocks are trading at their lowest level since September 2020.
READ MORE Shares of DCM Shriram moved higher by 20 per cent to hit an all-time high of Rs 663.89 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), in the intra-day trade on Friday, on the back of heavy volumes. The stock has surpassed its previous high of Rs 637, touched on May 23, 2019.
READ MORE Global markets
World stocks hit a record high on Friday and oil climbed after strong US and Chinese economic data bolstered expectations of a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump. MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks edged 0.1 per cent higher, led by Britain's FTSE 100, up 0.5 per cent.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.5 per cent, with Shanghai shares adding 0.8 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei up 0.1 per cent.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "Indices end choppy day in the green; Sensex up 28 pts; Wipro soars 9%")
