Sensex Soars 391 Points, Nifty Closes Above 11,350; Banking Stocks Jump

After two days of losses, domestic stock market indices surged on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex soared 391.00 points, or 1.05 per cent, to close at 37,556.16, marking its biggest single-session gain since May 31, when it had risen 416.27 points. The NSE's Nifty50 index rose 116.10 points or 1.03 per cent to settle at 11,360.80. That was the biggest single-day jump for the 50-scrip index since June 29, when it had closed 125.20 points higher. The rise in equity indices was aided by buying in banking,  financial, FMCG and metal stocks.

The weather office on Friday forecast an average rainfall in the last two months of the ongoing monsoon season. Monsoon is crucial for the economy and optimum rainfall pushes rural demand higher, say analysts.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Axis Bank, Vedanta, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bank, rising between 2.16 per cent and 5.17 per cent. HDFC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank contributed majorly to the gains in Sensex. Indiabulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank, Vedanta, Yes Bank and GAIL (rising between 2.73 per cent and 6.24 per cent) led the gains in Nifty.

Domestic stock markets today also tracked other Asian peers, where equities inched higher following a tech-led rise on Wall Street, although threats of an all-out Sino-US trade war weighed on investor sentiment.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the rainfall as a whole during the second half of the season was likely to be 95 per cent of a long period average. The IMD said the scenario realised till the end of July suggests that distribution of rainfall was very good across the country except Bihar, Jharkhand and north-eastern states.

Index heavyweight Housing Development Finance Corp closed up 2.5 per cent, after raising its retail prime lending rate by 20 basis points a day earlier. It had shed 4.8 per cent in the previous three sessions. Consumer major ITC Ltd ended 1.6 per cent higher

Indiabulls Housing Finance closed 6.2 per cent high after it posted a 30 per cent rise in June-quarter profit on Thursday. Among losers, Jet Airways (India) Ltd fell 9 per cent on reports of a cash crunch.

On the other hand, top laggards on the BSE index were Tata Motors, HeroMoto Corp, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Wipro and Induslnd Bank, ending between 0.28 per cent and 0.84 per cent lower. Prominent losers on NSE index were Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Grasim, HeroMoto Corp and Induslnd Bank, ending with losses between 0.45 per cent and 1.41 per cent.

It was the second straight week of gains for the benchmark indices. The Sensex recorded a rise of 219.31 points, or 0.59 per cent, while the Nifty gained 82.45 points, or 0.73 per cent, for the week.(With agency inputs)