Sensex Ends 70 Points Higher, Nifty Settles At 11,895: 10 Things To Know

1. The Sensex ended 70.21 points - or 0.17 per cent - higher at 40,356.69 and the Nifty settled up 23.20 points - or 0.20 per cent - at 11,895.30.
2. Top percentage gainers on the 50-scrip index were Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, SBI, Zee Entertainment and Grasim, ending between 3.05 per cent and 9.71 per cent higher.
3. SBI, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top contributors to the rise in Sensex. On the other hand, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti Suzuki were the top drags,
4. Six out of the 11 sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled higher, with the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Bank indices ending up 3.50 per cent and 0.87 per cent respectively. The financial services sector has a weightage of 39.47 per cent on the Nifty 50 index.
5. Telecom stocks spiked on hopes that the government would step in to help the ailing sector, say analysts. The surge in the sector came a day after two top mobile carriers warned their ability to operate and make profits would depend on relief from the country.
6. Bharti Airtel ended 9.58 per cent higher, whereas Vodafone Idea finished the session with a gain of 26.10 per cent.
7. However, investors remained on the edge after the release of weak macroeconomic data this week, according to analysts, who also said that concerns of growth slowdown also weighed on investor sentiment.
8. "Global markets showed mixed performance during the week as markets saw profit booking on conflicting signals regarding progress on a trade deal between the US and China," said Sanjeev Zarbade, VP-private client group research, Kotak Securities. 
9. Global equities jumped on Thursday after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the world's two largest economies were in close touch via telephone, and an agreement could be reached soon.
10. The Sensex finished the holiday-shortened week with a gain of 33.08 points (0.08 per cent), but the Nifty shed 12.85 points (0.11 per cent).

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