Sensex soars 1,031 pts, ends FY23 0.7% up; Nifty regains 17,350; RIL shines

CLOSING BELL: Nestle India, Infosys and ICICI Bank were the other major gainers among the Sensex 30 on Friday, up over 3 per cent each.

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Stock Market Highlights: Equity markets logged solid gains on Friday, the last trading day of the financial year 2022-23, as fears of contagion risk from the US banking crisis receded. Index heavyweights – Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Infosys accounted for almost 60 per cent of the gains on the BSE benchmark.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied to a high of 59,068, before ending with a solid gain of 1,031 points at 58,992. In the process, the BSE 30-share index edged 0.1 per cent up for the month, and finished FY23 0.7 per cent higher. READ FY23 RECAP

The NSE Nifty 50 hit a high of 17,382, and settled 279 points higher at 17,360. The 50-share index advanced 0.3 per cent in March, but was down 0.6 per cent for the fiscal year 2022-23.

"As the financial year drew to a close, the market witnessed an upward trend marked by bullish moves in the banking and IT sectors driven by robust global cues. Notably, an increased interest from foreign institutional investors due to the moderation in Indian stock valuations also aided. While the US market awaits the release of personal consumption expenditures data, which is considered a crucial indicator for forecasting the Federal Reserve's future actions, domestic investors await the RBI MPC meeting scheduled next week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services in a note.

The broader indices also logged smart gains. The BSE Midcap index was up a per cent, while the Smallcap index vaulted 1.4 per cent. The overall breadth too was fairly positive, with two advancing shares for every declining stock on the BSE.

Shares of the flagship Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries surged over 4 per cent to Rs 2,331 after the company called for lenders and shareholders meet on May 02 to consider the demerger process. READ MORE

Nestle India, ICICI Bank and Infosys gained over 3 per cent each and were the other major gainers among the Sensex 30. Tata Motors, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank and Wipro were the other major gainers.

Sectorally, the BSE IT index zoomed 2.5 per cent. The Bankex, Energy and Realty indices jumped around 1.5 per cent each.

Select shares of Adani group –Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and NDTV were locked at the 5 per cent upper limit. ACC gained 2.5 per cent in trades on Friday.

4:30 PM

Comment :: Why it may be too soon to cheer Friday's market rally?

Indian markets played a catch-up rally with global markets, which had witnessed two consecutive days of the strong move, while Indian markets were closed yesterday due to a holiday. Though we have seen a decent rally in the markets this week, we believe that markets may remain volatile in the near term, as the banking crisis in US and Europe has not yet stabilized completely. This is against the backdrop where bond yields in the US have also risen in the past week, which could further escalate banking issues there.

Views by: Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities

4:23 PM

Tech View :: 'There's a change in polarity on Nifty Bank'

The bulls came back strong and the index surpassed the hurdle of 40,000 with buying action throughout the day. The breakout confirms the positive momentum and one should keep a buy approach with immediate support at 40,200. The index closed above the past 10 days' high with a sharp surge in volumes which confirms the strength of the index. The index surpassed its 200 dma which acts as a change of polarity.

Views by: Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

4:16 PM

Tech View :: Which sectors will lead the rebound in April?

Nifty witnessed continuation of positive momentum from the previous trading session and closed the day on with handsome gains of ~280 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty has managed to close above the 20 day moving average (17,214) which is a sign of strength. The daily momentum indicator has a positive crossover which is a signal. Thus, both price and momentum indicator is suggesting further upside. The index is likely to test the zone of 17,480 – 17,500 where resistance in the form of the 200 day moving average and the upper end of the falling channel is placed, A key observation to note here is that on the Monthly chart the Nifty has managed to close above the 20 Month moving average (17,351) which is a positive sign. In terms of price pattern it has formed a Doji pattern indicating a pause after falling for three consecutive months. During April Nifty is likely to witness a rebound with IT, Energy, Metals, Capital Goods and PSU banks leading from the front.

Views by: Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

4:08 PM

Comment :: 'Domestic investors await the RBI MPC meeting scheduled next week'

As the financial year drew to a close, the market witnessed an upward trend marked by bullish moves in the banking and IT sectors driven by robust global cues. Notably, an increased interest from foreign institutional investors due to the moderation in Indian stock valuations also aided. While the US market awaits the release of personal consumption expenditures data, which is considered a crucial indicator for forecasting the Federal Reserve's future actions, domestic investors await the RBI MPC meeting scheduled next week.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

4:07 PM

Recap FY23: Five key events that shaped equity markets this fiscal year

Ukraine war: The world was just beginning to move past the damage done by Covid-19 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 rattled hopes of any recovery. The next thing known was a sharp energy supply shortage as countries began to discontinue oil and gas imports from one of the largest producers–Russia. The supply crunch led to a spiralling spike in fuel, food and raw material prices with the US recording the highest inflation rate in the last 40 years. READ MORE

4:05 PM

Sensex soars over 1,000 points higher: Top factors behind Friday's bull run

Morgan Stanley upgrades India: Global brokerage firm, Morgan Stanley upgraded India to 'equal-weight' from 'neutral' due to narrowing valuation premiums and resilient economy. While analysts remain 'over-weight' on North Asia excluding Japan, they remain 'Under-weight' on ASEAN countries.

Sectorally, analysts remain overweight on financials and consumer discretionary, whereas they were equal-weight on healthcare. READ MORE

4:02 PM

Currency check :: Rupee ends at 82.17/$ against Wednesday’s close of 82.34/$

4:00 PM

BSE Stats :: Advance-Decline ratio at 5:2

3:57 PM

Defence stocks zoomed on multiple orders from givt; BEL leaps over 6%

Shares of defense companies rallied on the BSE on Friday after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed multiple contracts worth over Rs 35,000 crore with state-owned and private companies.