Markets ended higher on Friday, with the Sensex gaining for the sixth straight session, led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys. The markets registered their fourth straight weekly gain on the back of aggressive buying from foreign institutional investors who have injected $1.54 billion this month so far.
The 30-share Sensex ended up 157 points at 17,234 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 47 points at 5,205.
During the day, the benchmark index had touched the day's high at 17,259 and the day's low at 17,107.
In Asia, Japanese shares slipped, easing further from a three-month high hit earlier this week, after forecasts of big annual losses from NEC Corp, Nintendo Co Ltd and Nippon Steel Corp. The US Federal Reserve's announcement this week that it would keep short-term interest rates "exceptionally low" at least until 2014 has helped underpin sentiment, however. The Nikkei closed 0.1% lower at 8,841 in a choppy session, though it was up 0.9% for the week - its third straight week of gains. The Hang Seng index ended 0.3% higher at 20,502.
On the sectoral front, BSE Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Metal indices led the gains, having advanced 2-3% each.
From the Oil & Gas space, Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) gained nearly 4% after the company announced that the share buyback programme will begin from February 1, 2012. The stock plunged last week on reporting disappointing numbers in the quarter ended December 2011. Other notable gainers from the pack were Gujarat State Petronet, ONGC, Gail (India) and Cairn India, up nearly 2% each.
Titan Industries, Gitanjali Gems and VIP Industries and Blue Star, up 3-5% each, were the prominent gainers from the Consumer Durables' space.
Metal stocks like Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Zinc surged between 2-6% after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rose 2.4% to close at $3,777 on January 26. The Metal index has rallied almost 5% so far in a week on reports that the U.S. Federal Reserve was ready to offer additional stimulus, a move that could lift economic growth and demand for industrial metals.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL) surged 7% to Rs 105.2, on reports that the state-owned company will spend about Rs 14,500 crore on capital expenditure in the next fiscal year.
IT stocks like Infosys and TCS gained by nearly 1-2% each. Technology stocks rose after the Fed indicated that it would keep rates in the US at ultra-low levels until late 2014 to support US economic recovery. US is the biggest outsourcing market for Indian IT firms.
BSE Realty and FMCG indices ended in the red, having shed 1-2% each. BSE Bankex index ended marginally lower at 11,282.
Sterlite Industries, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries, up 4-6% each, were the prominent gainers on the Sensex. Tata Motors traded higher by 4% at Rs 240, its highest level since May 2011, on hopes of strong performance from Jaguar as well as Land Rover in the emerging markets. Jaguar Land Rover (JLF) bought by Tata from Ford Motor Company is recruiting enough people to contemplate three shifts at its Solihull, UK plant for the first time in 60 years, the report suggests.
The losers from the pack were DLF, Bajaj Auto, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp and Jindal Steel, having declined 2-4% each.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,782 stocks advanced against 1,104 declining ones, on the BSE.