Sensex gains 139 pts on rally in banks, FMCG pack; Zomato jumps 66%

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices climbed higher on Friday, continuing their recovery from the sell-off early in the week. However, gains were capped due to subdued trading in the global markets.

Auto stocks were under pressure but banks and FMCG names lifted the indices. Market attention was also on the listing of Zomato that saw massive investor interest. Rs 9,198.04 crore worth of Zomato stocks were traded during the day.

The 30-share pack Sensex advanced 138.59 points or 0.26 per cent to close at 52,975.80. Its broader peer NSE Nifty climbed 32 points or 0.20 per cent to 15,856.05.

“Earnings season continued to pump in optimism in India & global markets while the Fed is set to deliberate their easy-money policy in the meeting ahead. Attractive IPOs, Banking and realty stocks attracted domestic buyers while mid and small-cap traded mixed," said Vinod Nair, Head Of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Mphasis surges 5 per cent after strong June quarter show
• ITC sees traction ahead of Q1 earnings, gains 3 per cent
• Mahindra Lifespaces rallies 8 per cent ahead of bonus issue buzz
• Zomato soars 66 per cent over issue price on debut day
• India VIX, a barometer of volatility, slides further 1 per cent

Among the blue-chip names, ICICI Bank was the top gainer, rising 3.12 per cent. ITC, Wipro, SBI Life Insurance, Tata Consumer, HCL Tech, SBI, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finserv were other gainers.

Tata Motors was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 2.23 per cent. Grasim, Adani Ports, L&T, UPL, Indian Oil, HUL, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and IndusInd Bank were others that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended mixed underperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap declined 0.46 per cent and Nifty Midcap climbed 0.17 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended up 0.12 per cent.

CSB Bank, Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Caplin Point Laboratories, Mphasis, Dhani Services and Indiabulls Housing Finance were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 3-9 per cent.


Vodafone Idea, Trent, Glenmark Pharma, CDSL, Happiest Minds Technologies and Sequent Scientific were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 3-10 per cent.

Barring Nifty Media and Nifty Auto that fell 0.98 per cent and 0.34 per cent, all sectoral indices closed with gains. Nifty Realty was the top gainer, rising 1.29 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty FMCG were among other major gainers.

Market breadth was in favour of losers as 1,579 stocks ended in the green, while 1,667 names settled with cuts. As many as 474 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 34 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 470 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 235 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading higher. London-based FTSE was up 0.85 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt advanced 0.99 per cent and 0.90 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea ended in the green while the rest registered losses.