BT Closing Bell | Sensex settles 504 pts higher, Nifty above 24,350; HUL, Power Grid lead index gainers

Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty climbed on Friday, supported by gains in FMCG, utilities, banking and power stocks amid rising hopes of de-escalation in the US-Iran conflict.

At close, the Sensex advanced 504.86 points, or 0.65 per cent, to settle at 78,493.54, while the Nifty gained 56.80 points, or 0.65 per cent, to close at 24,353.55. 

The market closed higher today, boosted by improved prospects for a Middle East resolution and a reversal in FII flows to net buying, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd

“A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon helped keep crude below $100/bbl, easing pressure on import-dependent economies,” Nair said.

Top gainers & losers

Among Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) emerged as the top gainer, rising 4.75% to Rs 2241.10. Power Grid Corporation of India followed with a 1.86% gain, while Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tech Mahindra and Titan Company rose 1.61%, 1.56%, 1.41% and 1.34%, respectively.   

While Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and HCL Technologies were among the losers on the 30-pack index, which declined up to 1.06%. 

Five stocks, namely Reliance Industries, HUL, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and ITC, contributed largely to the Sensex’s rise.  

Among sectoral indices, the BSE FMCG index gained 2.48% to settle at 18,367.56, while the BSE Utilities index climbed 1.45% to close at 6,014.91.

“Going ahead, the immediate resistance for Nifty is placed in the 24430-24450 zone. Any sustainable move above this zone could result in Nifty extending its up move towards 24600, followed by 24800 in the short term. On the downside, the zone of 24200–24180 zone is likely to act as an immediate support,” said Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.