Benchmark indices rise marginally, Sensex ends over 59,400

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IANS | 12 Aug, 2022
Benchmark indices ended on a positive note on Friday, with Sensex and Nifty both rising marginally on the back of metals and oil & gas stocks.

At close, Sensex ended up 130.18 points or 0.22 per cent at 59,462.78, while Nifty closed 39.15 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 17,698.15. On the BSE, 1,828 shares advanced, 1,563 shares declined, while 152 shares remained unchanged.

BSE largecap ended 0.31 per cent up, while smallcap and midcap ended up 0.39 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively.

NTPC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India, and Reliance Industries were among the top gainers on the BSE on Friday.

On the NSE, Nifty Energy ended up 502.20 points or 1.88 per cent, while oil & gas ended up 476.07 points or 2.47 per cent on the BSE.

"Return of FIIs and declining dollar index aided the market rally. While metals and oil & gas garnered buying interest, IT and pharma weighed on the sentiments. Oil & gas stocks were in focus as the government diverted some natural gas from industries to city gas operators in an effort to moderate the prices of CNG and piped cooking gas," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market participants said ahead of India's retail inflation data, benchmark indices ended marginally higher and registered fourth straight weekly gains.

The National Statistical Office is scheduled to release inflation data for July on Friday.

"Ahead of India's retail inflation data, benchmark indices settled higher for the fourth straight week. In an extremely volatile trading session on Friday, metal and private bank indices outperformed. The metal index rallied over 4.5 per cent and private banks rallied over 3.5 per cent. Despite strong momentum, profit booking was seen in FMCG and selective media stocks," said Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities.

Earlier in the day, Asian stocks remained mixed. MSCI's broadcast index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.1 per cent, while Australia AXJO was down 0.72 per cent. European stock market also edged higher on Friday.

"World stocks were headed for a fourth straight week of gains on Friday as investors scaled back views on how far US interest rates and inflation can climb, while oil recouped some of the previous week's losses," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.