Ending in the positive territory for the seventh consecutive session, key Indian equity indices on Friday extended gains on the back of broadly positive global markets and value buying in consumer durables, oil and gas as well as IT stocks.According to market observers, hopes of a potential sovereign ratings upgrade by a US ratings agency due later in the evening kept investors' sentiments buoyed.On a closing basis, the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 40.95 points or 0.40 per cent to 10,389.70 points.The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed at 33,679.24 points -- up 91.16 points or 0.27 per cent -- from its Thursday's close.The BSE market breadth was bullish -- 1,513 advances and 1,227 declines."Indian equity markets ended up in green for seventh straight sessions led by IT firms and a potential sovereign ratings upgrade by Standard & Poor's (S&P) later in the day," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.The BSE mid-cap closed higher by 0.58 per cent while the small-cap index was up 0.45 per cent.
On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 20-12 paise to 64.70 against the US dollar from its previous close at 64.58-59."Positive global cues aided the Indian markets. Major Asian markets ended on a positive note while European indices like CAC 40 and DAX traded higher," Deepak Jasani, Head, Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.However, some gains were capped as investors booked profits in metals stocks and foreign investors pulled out money from stocks.Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 416.28 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 427.63 crore.Sector-wise, the S&P BSE consumer durables index surged by 580.57 points, followed by oil and gas index by 109.73 points and IT index by 92.20 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE metal index fell by 85.35 points and basic materials index by 8.36 points.Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Infosys, up 1.87 per cent at Rs 1,009.95; Bajaj Auto, up 1.07 per cent at Rs 3,296.80; Mahindra & Mahindra, up 1.05 per cent at Rs 1,434.70; Kotak Bank, up 0.99 per cent at Rs 1,031.10; and Power Grid, up 0.91 per cent at Rs 211.10.Major Sensex losers were: Tata Motors (DVR), down 0.89 per cent at Rs 240.70; State Bank of India, down 0.79 per cent at Rs 332.25; Adani Ports, down 0.74 per cent at Rs 404.20; Hero MotoCorp, down 0.66 per cent at Rs 3,654.65; and ICICI Bank, down 0.64 per cent at Rs 317.05.