Fag-end buying lifts Sensex 114 points, Nifty above 18,100; Metal index up 4%
The key benchmark indices ended a rather listless trading session near the high’s of the day on the back of smart gains in metals and select financial shares.
The S&P BSE Sensex languished in the negative zone for the major part of the trading day, but eventually ended 114 points higher at 60,950 owing to the late buying. The NSE Nifty 50 settled with a gain of 64 points at 18,117.
Among the Sensex 30 shares, Bajaj Finserv surged 4.5 per cent to Rs 1,801. Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement vaulted 2.5 per cent each. SBI, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were the other major gainers.
On the other hand, Dr.Reddy’s slipped 1.5 per cent. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and HDFC Bank were the other notable losers.
The broader market, however, ended on a mixed note. The NSE Midcap index was down 0.3 per cent, while the Smallcap index added 0.4 per cent. India VIX declined 1.8 per cent on Friday.
Sectorally, the NSE Metal index surged over 4 per cent. The PSU Bank and Media indices were up a per cent each. The Pharma index, however, slipped a per cent.