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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vedanta slipped 2% in a strong market after nearly 2% equity changed hands. A combined 69 million shares, representing 1.86 per cent of total equity of Vedanta, have changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

Astec Lifesciences zoomed 37% in two days on heavy volumes. With the rally in the past two days, the stock has bounced back 40 per cent from its 52-week low of Rs 1,050 touched recently on Tuesday, March 28.

Nestle India gained 2% amid reports of Ching’s buyout. According to a Bloomberg report, Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food group, is among final bidders competing to acquire India’s Capital Foods Pvt as it seeks to boost its presence in the fast-growing economy, people familiar with the matter said.

Here are some picks from the week gone by.