Market at record closing high! Sensex jumps 467 points, Nifty settles at 18,826; Kalyan Jewellers & Mazagon Dock jump up to 17%

Indian equity benchmarks on Friday rose sharply to scale their respective closing high levels. The domestic indices jumped today, led by gains in banks, financials, pharma and consumer stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack jumped 467 points or 0.74 per cent to close at 63,385; while the broader NSE Nifty index moved 138 points or 0.74 per cent up to settle at 18,826. Mid and smallcap shares finished on a positive note, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.68 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.98 per cent. Fear index, India VIX, fell 2.16 per cent to 10.84.

Globally, Asian stocks traded on a positive note today after economic data from the US hinted at a potential delay in further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Overnight, Wall Street equities closed higher.

Back home, buying interest in select index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), ICICI Bank, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) also lifted the indices higher.

13 out of the 15 sectoral indices on NSE settled in the green today. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables outperformed the index by rising 1.14 per cent, 1.42 per cent, 0.62 per cent, 0.76 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively. Although, Nifty IT and Nifty Realty slipped today.

"The domestic market rebounded with strong buying in banking, pharma, and consumer stocks, along with positive cues from global markets. The US market's optimism was bolstered by better-than-expected retail sales, reflecting the robustness of the economy," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

On the stock-specific front, HDFC Life was the top Nifty gainer as the stock gained 5.89 per cent to close at Rs 610.20. SBI Life, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy's and Titan climbed up to 3.24 per cent.

Also, Kalyan Jewellers, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Wockhardt zoomed up to 17.10 per cent.

In contrast, Wipro, Bajaj Auto, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), BPCL and ONGC were among the top laggards. Capri Global Capital cracked 5.63 per cent. Further, Aster DM Healthcare, PVR Inox, HEG and Lodha and KEI Industries fell up to 4.76 per cent.

Out of a total of 3,656 stocks that traded during the day on BSE, 2,120 settled with gains while 1,412 others ended lower. The rest 124 stocks stayed unchanged.

Nifty and Nifty Bank outlooks

"Nifty is still holding a 'higher high and higher low' formation and is comfortably trading above the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average). On weekly charts, the index has a formed bullish candle which also supports a further uptrend from the current levels. For the trend-following traders, 18,720 would be the key level to watch out and above the same the index could move up towards 18,980. On the other hand, below 18,720 or 20-day SMA, any uptrend would be vulnerable, below which the market could slip till 18,600-18,550. For Nifty Bank, as long it is trading below the 20-day SMA or below 44,000, the weak sentiment is likely to continue. Below the same, it could slip towards the 50-day SMA or 43,250. On the flip side, a fresh uptrend is possible only after the dismissal of 44,000, and above the same it could retest the level of 44,300," said Amol Athawale, VP-Technical Research Analyst at Kotak Securities.

Also Read | Kalyan Jewellers, IKIO Lighting, Suzlon Energy shares see high volumes on NSE

Also Read | Multibagger stock in making? Four factors why SBI shares can touch Rs 750 in a year