Markets log first gain in 5 days; financial, pharma stocks take charge

Market gauges Sensex and Nifty broke their four-session losing run on Friday as emergence of buying in financial, pharma and IT stocks negated losses in metal counters.

After a range-bound trading through the day, the BSE Sensex ended 166.07 points or 0.32 per cent higher at 52,484.67.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 42.20 points or 0.27 per cent up at 15,722.20.

On the Sensex chart, ICICI Bank was the top gainer, rising over 1.5 per cent, followed by RIL, SBI, Titan, HDFC, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Infosys. On the other hand, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma