After trading with volatility for most part of the day, the Indian equity markets on Friday pared their initial losses to close in the green as broadly positive European markets and a surge in buying activites in consumer durables, oil and gas, and metal stocks lifted investors' sentiments.
According to market observers, global cues remained cautious ahead of the US non-farm payroll data for July slated to be released later in the evening.
Besides, heavy selling pressure in healthcare stocks and outflow of foreign funds kept the equity markets subdued during the mid-afternoon trade session.
The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed higher by 52.75 points or 0.53 per cent at 10,066.40 points.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 32,191.12 points, closed at 32,325.41 points -- up 87.53 points, or 0.27 per cent -- from its previous close at 32,237.88 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 32,352.19 points and a low of 32,107.99 points during intra-day trade.
However, the BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,420 declines and 1,175 advances.
In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index rose by 0.66 per cent and the small-cap index was up 0.10 per cent.
"Nifty50 ended with gains on Friday after a bounce back from the lows of 9,988 in the afternoon session. The Nifty settled above the psychologically important 10,000-mark after falling below it during the day," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
"Caution prevailed in global stocks ahead of US non-farm payroll data for July, which is due later in the day. Major Asian markets ended on a mixed note, while European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX traded higher," said Jasani.
On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 11 paise to close at 63.58-59 to a US dollar from its previous close at 63.69-70.
In investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 853.80 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 1,017.10 crore.
"The benchmark indices pared losses to turn choppy in the noon deals as banking stocks recovered, while the pharma index was the sole sectoral loser," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.
"Almost all constituents of the Nifty Pharma index, which shed as much as 2.5 per cent in what could be its third straight session of decline, were in red," Desai added.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE consumer durables index augmented by 696.25 points, the oil and gas index by 379.44 points, and the metal index by 306.90 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE healthcare index declined by 131.91 points and the telecom index was down by 6.21 points.
Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Hero MotoCorp, up 3.11 per cent at Rs 3,958.65; Coal India, up 3.04 per cent at Rs 249.20; Tata Steel, up 2.85 per cent at Rs 575.50; NTPC, up 2.78 per cent at Rs 177.25; and Hindustan Unilever, up 1.91 per cent at Rs 1,191.90.
Major Sensex losers were: Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 3.76 per cent at Rs 2,244.10; Sun Pharma, down 1.85 per cent at Rs 506.65; Reliance Industries , down 1.76 per cent at Rs 1,622.50; Bharti Airtel, down 0.78 per cent at Rs 420.95; and HDFC, down 0.27 per cent at Rs 1,732.90.
--IANS
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