Sensex snaps 2-day losing streak, ends 181 points up; PSBs rally
The domestic equity indices snapped out of a two-session losing streak to settle 0.5 per cent higher on Friday led by a rise in public sector banks and metal stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,695, up 181 points or 0.51 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,727, up 55 points or 0.52 per cent. On a weekly basis, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.05 per cent, while the Nifty 50 declined 1.22 per cent.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.48 per cent or 72 points to end the day at 15,148, while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 14,592, up 0.14 per cent or 20 points on Friday.
Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank rose the most on Friday, gaining 2.32 per cent led by Syndicate Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and State Bank of India (SBI). Nifty Metal too, rose 1.40 per cent led by Jindal Steel & Power, Vedanta and Tata Steel.
The rupee traded on a firm note having risen to 69.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. The domestic unit had settled at 70.17 against the greenback on Thursday.
Shares of Page Industries ended lower for the fourth straight day on Friday. The stock slipped as much as 4 per cent to Rs 22,550 in the intra-day deals, hitting a nine-month low on the BSE. The stock eventually closed 3.88 per cent lower at Rs 22,676.
Shares of Ashok Leyland plunged to their 18-month low of Rs 95.95 apiece, dipping 2 per cent on the BSE in intra-day, and extending their 4 per cent fall in the past two days after recording weak December sales numbers. The stock of commercial vehicles (CV) manufacturer traded at its lowest level since July 3, 2017. It eventually ended the day at Rs 96.80, down 1.33 per cent.
Shares of information technology (IT) companies were trading weak with Nifty IT index down by more than 2 per cent on Friday amid rise in Indian rupee against US dollar. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCL Technologies, MindTree, Tata Elxsi and Tech Mahindra from the Nifty IT index were down more than 2 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the intra-day trade.
Persistent Systems, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Hexaware Technologies, Mphasis, Cyient and Zensar Technologies fell by up to 6 per cent in intra-day trade.
Shares of GM Breweries plunged as much as 13 per cent to Rs 630 in the early trade on BSE on Friday after the beverage company reported a 25 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in its Q3 net profit. For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, the company posted net profit of Rs 16.71 crore against Rs 22.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Total revenue from operations stood at Rs 448.89 crore, up 3.46 per cent. Earnings per share (EPS) of the company came in at Rs 9.14 against Rs 15.25 in the year-ago period.
Shares of Future Retail were down 3% at Rs 444 in early morning deal, trading lower for the eighth straight day after the government tightened rules for e-commerce companies. The stock was quoting close to its 52-week low price of Rs 423 touched on October 8, 2018, on BSE in the intra-day trade. In the past eight trading days, Future Retail has slipped 19% from Rs 564 on December 24, 2018, as compared to a marginal a 0.12% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
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