Sensex rises 440 pts, Nifty ends above 21,800; oil & gas, metal, IT stocks lead gains

Benchmark indices ended higher on Friday boosted by Budgetary announcements and positive global cues. Nifty hit its lifetime high of 22,126, rising 429 points intraday against the previous close of 21,697. Sensex ended 440 points higher at 72,085 led by gains in oil and gas and metal and IT stocks. Nifty climbed 156 points to end at 21,853. 

During the session, Sensex climbed over 1,100 points from day's low of 71,948 and hit a high of 73,089. Later, it pared gains a majority of gains to still end in the green. 

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 382.78 lakh crore. PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Steel and TCS were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 4.10 per cent. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 21 ended in green.  

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Shares of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC and L&T were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.42%. 

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said, "A conservative Interim Budget had no slowdown effect on the market, which continued to grow on the pre-election rally. The drastic fall in the fiscal deficit target is leading to a reduction in bond yields, which will lead to lowering of corporate borrowing costs, increasing incentives to step up investment. Furthermore, the FOMC tempers expectations that the central bank will soon slash interest rates and that inflation in the US is continuing to cool."

Investor wealth surged by Rs 3.36 lakh crore on BSE. Oil and gas, metal and IT stocks were the top sectoral gainers with their indices rising 1,094 points, 780 points, and 809 points, respectively on BSE. 

On the other hand, banking stocks were top losers with the BSE bankex falling 270 points to 51,975. Market breadth was positive with 2036 stocks rising against 1811 stocks falling on BSE. 96 shares were unchanged.

Rupak De, Senior Technical  Analyst at LKP Securities said, "Nifty surpassed the 22,000 mark during the first half of the Friday session but subsequently formed a double top on the hourly chart. Confirmation of bullish trend resumption would only occur with a decisive breakout above the double top, which is currently identified around 22,125. Conversely, a break below the support level at 21,500 could indicate a bearish momentum. In the scenario of a breakout above 22,150, Nifty may experience upward momentum, potentially reaching levels such as 22,500 and beyond."

Previous session 

The domestic equity market ended in the red on Thursday. Sensex slipped 107 points to end the session at 71,645 and Nifty fell 28 points to settle at 21,697.