Equities end week with a bang on earnings optimism, global cues

The 30-share Sensex rallied over 256 points to end at a near 3-month high of 34,969.70, while the broader Nifty advanced 74.50 points to 10,692.30 as the May derivatives series got off to a strong start.

The key indices gained for the fifth week in a row - their longest winning streak in a year. The Sensex surged 554.12 points, or 1.61 per cent, while the Nifty gained 128.25 points, or 1.21 per cent, during this week.

Most Asian markets ended higher after the leaders of the two Koreas held a landmark summit and agreed to pursue a permanent peace and complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula.

Back home, financial stocks led by Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank hogged the limelight, rising by up to about 9 per cent.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained nearly 2 per cent ahead of its results.

Meanwhile, global credit rating agency Fitch affirmed India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-' with 'stable' outlook, saying that the country's medium-term growth potential is strong.

'BBB' rating indicates lowest investment grade.

The 30-stock Sensex opened positive and rallied to reclaim the 35,000-mark, touching the session's high of 35,065.37.

However, profit-booking at some counters trimmed the gains as the gauge settled 256.10 points or 0.74 per cent higher at 34,969.70 - a level last seen on February 2 when it had concluded at 35,066.77.

The index had rallied 212.33 points in the previous session on the back of strong earnings amid positive global cues.

The NSE Nifty, after hitting a high of 10,719.80, closed at 10,692.30, up 74.50 points, or 0.70 per cent. It touched a low of 10,647.55.

"Market edged higher owing to strong global market rally while good set of quarterly earnings lifted investors sentiment. The current rally outpaced the headwinds from rising oil price and rupee volatility.

"PSU bank outperformed on account of short covering while IT index witnessed profit booking after earnings led rally. US 10 year bond yield slid below 3 per cent marked by ease in geopolitical tensions supporting global market sentiments," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Axis Bank emerged the top performer among Sensex constituents by surging 8.97 per cent even as the company yesterday reported a net loss of Rs 2,188.74 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Reliance Industries zoomed to hit an all-time high of Rs 1,010.70 before ending 1.99 per cent higher at Rs 994.75 ahead of its earnings.

Other prominent gainers included SBI, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, L&T, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid and ITC Ltd.

Maruti Suzuki fell 1.90 per cent even as the country's largest car maker reported a 10 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,882.1 crore for the March quarter.

Other laggards included TCS, Wipro, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Unlever, NTPC, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and ONGC.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 684.11 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded to the tune of Rs 1,056.34 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

The broader markets too displayed a firm trend as the BSE mid-cap index rose 0.79 per cent and the small-caps gained 0.42 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, capital goods rose 1.40 per cent, PSU 1.25 per cent, oil and gas 1.05 per cent, healthcare 0.75 per cent, metal 0.61 per cent, realty 0.37 per cent, infrastructure 0.24 per cent, auto 0.24 per cent and FMCG 0.24 per cent.

However, IT, teck and consumer durables ended in the red on profit-booking.

Globally, the Dow on Thursday extended its gains a day after breaking 20,000 for the first time.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.66 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.91 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite Index moved up 0.23 per cent.

European indices too were trading higher in their early deals. Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.66 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 inched up 0.04 per cent. London's FTSE gained 0.10 per cent.