Strong rupee, coupled with fresh inflow of foreign funds and positive global cues marginally lifted the Indian equity markets on Friday.The key indices closed on a flat-to-positive note, as healthy buying was witnessed in capital goods, automobile and IT stocks.However, caution prevailed ahead of the release of the macro-economic industrial production data -- Index of Industrial Production (IIP) -- slated for later in the day.Besides, investors remained cautious ahead of the five state assembly elections' results on Saturday, and over a possible US interest rate hike during the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet next week.The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was up 7.55 points or 0.08 per cent to 8,934.55 points. The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 29,006 points, closed at 28,946.23 points -- up 17.10 points or 0.06 per cent from the previous close at 28,929.13 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 29,076.63 points and a low of 28,851.04 points during the intra-day trade.In contrast, the BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of bears -- with 1,663 declines and 1,135 advances.
The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE mid-cap index edged lower by 0.25 per cent, and the small-cap index was down by 0.12 per cent. On Thursday, the benchmark indices closed on a flat note as the NSE Nifty inched up 2.70 points or 0.03 per cent to close at 8,927 points, and the BSE Sensex was up 27.19 points or 0.09 per cent at 28,929.13 points."Major Asian markets have ended on a mixed note while European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX traded higher," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said: "Exit poll results rubbed on market sentiments, giving another push early in the day, but caution was abundant ahead of the long weekend, especially with several event risks lying ahead.""Meanwhile, while ECB's (European Central Bank) dovish verdict yesterday has mellowed expectations for next week's US rate hike, US non-farm payroll figures could be a better indicator of FOMC's policy action," James said.On the currency front, Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS: "Indian equity market witnessed good recovery from lower levels tracking bearish USD/INR futures prices."
The Indian rupee appreciated by 11 paise to 66.61 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.72 to a greenback.In terms of investments, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 412.14 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 13.91 crore.Commenting on the sector-specific movement, Desai said: "IT, banking, media-entertainment and FMCG sector stocks traded with mixed sentiments, while textile, cement and aviation sector stocks traded with firm sentiments due to lower levels of buying.""On the contrary, pharma, auto, oil-gas and power sector stocks traded down due to selling pressure."Sector-wise, the S&P BSE capital goods index surged by 72.90 points, followed by the automobile index, which rose by 58.59 points, and the IT index, which edged up by 39.47 points.On the other hand, the S&P BSE metal index fell by 75.24 points, the oil and gas index edged down by 52.80 points, and the healthcare index slipped by 47.17 points.Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Bharti Airtel, up 1.22 per cent at Rs 364.80; Hero MotoCorp, up 1.16 per cent at Rs 3,311.60; Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 1.02 per cent at Rs 1,491.95; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 0.88 per cent at Rs 2,541.80; and ONGC, 0.87 per cent at Rs 191.40.Major Sensex losers were: ICICI Bank, down 0.99 per cent at Rs 270.55; Power Grid, down 0.88 per cent at Rs 192.55; Bajaj Auto, down 0.79 per cent at Rs 2,850; NTPC, down 0.76 per cent at Rs 157.05; and ITC, down 0.59 per cent at Rs 263.25.