Sensex, Nifty end higher; Eternal, Infosys lead gainers; trading strategy for next week

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 extended gains for the second straight session on Thursday, closing higher amid upbeat investor sentiment after S&P upgraded India's rating, ahead of the extended weekend.

At close, the BSE Sensex was up 57.75 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 80,597.66. The NSE Nifty50 gained 11.95 points, or 0.05 per cent, to settle at 24,631.30. The Nifty witnessed a lackluster trading session, remaining range-bound ahead of the Trump–Putin meeting on Friday, said Rupak De at LKP Securities

“The overall sentiment is likely to favour bullish trades as long as the index holds above 24,337. On the higher side, resistance is placed at 24,660 and 24,850, while a fall below 24,337 could trigger a resumption of the bearish trend," De said.

Eternal led Sensex gainers, rising 1.65 per cent to Rs 317.45 apiece. Infosys rose 1.47 per cent, followed by Asian Paints (up 1.19 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 0.57 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (up 0.55 per cent), and Titan (up 0.47 per cent).

Seven stocks, namely HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Eternal, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Bharti Airtel, contributed heavily to the Sensex’s rise. 

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex rose 0.23 per cent, or 141.39 points, to end at 61,625.39. BSE IT climbed 0.38 per cent to settle at 34,176.54.

Out of 4,215 stocks that traded on the BSE today, 1,754 advanced, 2,310 declined, while 151 stayed unchanged.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that after a volatile weekly expiry-day session, Indian equities ended flat as investors traded cautiously ahead of the US-Russia summit.

“IT and pharma stocks advanced on the back of a softer US inflation data and dovish outlook. Banking and consumer durables also gained on hopes of a consumption-led recovery,” Nair said.

“However,  weakness was seen in metals and energy indices due to falling commodity prices and over supply concerns. S&P’s upgrade of India’s credit rating and its stable outlook, citing strong policy continuity and infrastructure-led growth is likely to support the domestic market. In the near-term, the market is expected to trade in a tight range with a mixed bias looking forward to upcoming geopolitical meets," Nair added.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin scaled a fresh peak on Thursday, briefly crossing the $124,000 mark for the first time ever. At last check, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $121,650.