Markets inch up to record highs; post weekly gains
Gains were muted as investors turned jittery at the fag end of the session on macroeconomic concerns after Fitch Ratings cut India's GDP growth forecast for 2019-20, traders said.
After opening on a firm footing, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 7.62 points, or 0.02 per cent, higher at 41,681.54. It hit a lifetime intra-day high of 41,809.96 during the session.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 12.10 points, or 0.09 per cent, to its new record of 12,271.80. It hit an intra-day high of 12,293.90.
During the week, the Sensex rose 671.83 points or 1.63 per cent, while Nifty advanced 185.10 points or 1.53 per cent.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Friday, rallying 3.23 per cent, followed by SBI, Yes Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel.
On the other hand, Vedanta was the biggest loser, shedding 3.45 per cent. Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, ITC, M&M and Sun Pharma too ended in the red.
According to traders, participants offloaded equities at the fag end of the session after Fitch Ratings cut India's GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 fiscal year to 4.6 per cent on deterioration in business and consumer confidence.
Stocks traded with a positive bias during the day on hopes of Budget stimulus to spur economic growth, analysts said.
"Market maintained a positive bias amid a narrow range. RBI's open market operation to bridge liquidity gap provided impetus to investors. Bond yield slid to 6.57 per cent while PSU banks gained in expectation of higher treasury gains.
"A short term consolidation cannot be ruled out as investors may slide to a holiday mood, last two weeks we had a solid Santa clause rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
BSE consumer durables, telecom, realty, utilities, metal, power and finance indices rose up to 1.20 per cent.
However, healthcare, auto, energy and capital goods lost up to 0.42 per cent.
Broader BSE midcap index rose 0.15 per cent, while smallcap gauge slipped 0.03 per cent.
On a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 739.43 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 493.95 crore on Thursday, data available with stock exchange showed.
World equities climbed to fresh highs as investors remained in a bullish mood ahead of the holiday season.
In Asia, Hong Kong and Seoul settled on a positive note, while bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo ended in the red.
Benchmark indices in Europe were trading higher in their respective early sessions.
On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 13 paise against the US dollar to 71.16 (intra-day).
Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.14 per cent to USD 66.45 per barrel. ANS ABM ABM