Sensex jumps 463 points, Nifty settles above 18,050; Adani Enterprises & Adani Ports rise up to 4%; Raymond tanks 7%

Bulls were back in action at Dalal Street on Friday as the benchmark equity indices rose for a straight seventh session and settled with gains. Fag-end buying in select pockets pushed the indices higher. Strong corporate earnings and optimism over other blue chips supported the sentiments.

For the day, BSE Sensex surged more than 463 points, or 0.76 per cent, to settle at 61,112.44, while NSE's Nifty50 index gained about 150 points, or 0.84 per cent, to close at 18,065. Sensex has gained more than 1,450 points, or 2.4 per cent, while Nifty has surged over 440 points, or 2.5 per cent for the week.

Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices added a per cent each. Nifty50 Fear gauge India VIX dropped more than 4 per cent to 10.95-level.

Strong overnight positive cues from the US markets bolstered the sentiment as investors' growing appetite for local shares helped benchmark indices close above the psychological marks in a slightly volatile market. The markets have run up due to a revival in FII buying interest, relatively better corporate earnings performance so far, and falling crude oil prices, caution may prevail going ahead and profit-taking could come into play, said Amol Athawale, Technical Analyst (DVP), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, the Nifty took support near the 200-day SMA or 17,650 and bounced back sharply. It has also formed a long bullish candle on weekly charts which is largely positive. As long as the index is trading above 17,900 the uptrend formation is likely to continue and could move up to 18,150-18,250. On the flip side, below 17,900, traders may prefer to exit from the long positions," he said.

Barring the Nifty Consumer Durable index, all the sectoral indices of Nifty settled in green for the day. Nifty PSU Bank index gained more than 2 per cent, while the Nifty Media index also posted similar gains. Nifty IT, Healthcare, Auto and FMCG indices also added a per cent, each, for the day.

In the Nifty50 pack, Adani Group stocks - Adani Entertainment and Adani Ports - topped the gainers, rising 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. Nestle, Wipro and Britannia Industries also gained over 3 per cent each, while ITC, HDFC Life, Larsen & Toubro and Apollo Hospitals rose more than 2 per cent, each.

Among the losers, Axis Bank plunged over 2 per cent after muted performance in the March 2023 quarter. Titan Company and ONGC dropped a per cent, each. JSW Steel, Cipla and Hindustan Unilever were among the other top laggards.

Despite concerns about potentially weaker US GDP numbers and high inflation, the stronger-than-expected earnings reported by Meta propelled IT stocks to the forefront of the Wall Street rally, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The trend was reflected in the domestic market, as beaten-down IT stocks helped to lift broader market sentiment. However, with US inflation remaining high, the prospect of another rate hike by the Fed is looming, keeping global markets volatile in the coming days," he said.

A total of 3,629 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,249 settled in green. 1,249 stocks ended the session with gains, while 131 shares remained unchanged. A total of 190 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 113 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Edelweiss Financial Services hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent to Rs 68.52, while Llyod Metals and Energy gained 16 per cent. Aarti Surfactants gained 12 per cent after its net profit more than doubled in the March 2023 quarter. Datamatics Global Services surged 11 per cent as the company reported a strong Q4 performance.

Dental products maker Prevest DenPro surged about 13 per cent after the company reported a 107 per cent increase in net profit in the March 2023 quarter to Rs 5.10 crore. Its total revenue during the reporting quarter increased 38 per cent to Rs 14.1 crore.

On the downside, MMTC settled 11 per cent lower after hitting new 52-week lows. Apcotex Industries declined about 8 per cent after disappointing performance in the March 2023 quarter. Raymond cracked 7 per cent as the company sold its consumer care business to Godrej Consumer Products. Shriram Finance and Brightcom Group were down 5 per cent, each, for the day.

In the intraday session, Nifty gained in the mid-to-afternoon session. after making a day low of 17,885.30 & remaining up throughout the day, said Rohan Shah, Head - Technical Research at Stoxbox.

"Nifty rose on and formed a big positive candle on the daily, weekly and monthly charts. Intraday traders can look for long opportunities only above 18,140 if the closing comes above 18,140 in the 15 min chart. Traders can look for fresh shorts only if nifty breaks the 17,900 level and remains below for 15 min to ensure a short," he said.

Also read: Raymond shares fall 7%, off all-time high after Godrej Deal, What CMD Gautam Singhania told BT TV