Equity markets rally for 2nd day; Sensex jumps 1 per cent

PTI

Mumbai, May 26

Equity benchmark indices extended their previous day’s rally on Friday, with the Sensex climbing 1 per cent, amid massive buying in bellwether stocks, unabated foreign fund inflows and a largely positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 629.07 points or 1.02 per cent to settle at 62,501.69. During the day, it rallied 657.21 points or 1.06 per cent to 62,529.83.

The NSE Nifty climbed 178.20 points or 0.97 per cent to end at 18,499.35.

The expectations of positive macroeconomic data, to be released next week, and normal monsoon forecasts also boosted the overall sentiments.

“With the upcoming Q4 GDP data, it is anticipated that India’s FY23 GDP will marginally surpass the earlier projected 7.0 per cent growth rate. Additionally, the expectation of a normal monsoon and consistent FII buying further boosted confidence among domestic investors,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries jumped the highest 2.79 per cent. Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel and Titan were among the other major gainers.

Bharti Airtel, Power Grid and NTPC were the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.82 per cent and the smallcap index climbed 0.49 per cent.

Among the indices, IT climbed 1.34 per cent, realty jumped 1.31 per cent, FMCG (1.29 per cent), teck (1.12 per cent), metal (1.05 per cent), commodities (0.96 per cent) and healthcare (0.96 per cent).

Utilities, oil & gas and power were the laggards.

A total of 1,969 stocks advanced, while 1,522 declined and 139 remained unchanged.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended in the green.

Equity markets in Europe were trading lower. The US market ended mostly with gains on Thursday.

The Sensex climbed 98.84 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 61,872.62 on Thursday. The Nifty gained 35.75 points or 0.20 per cent to end at 18,321.15.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 589.10 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.24 per cent to USD 76.44 a barrel.