After opening on a positive note on Friday, domestic stock markets swung between gains and losses in late morning trade. The S&P BSE Sensex surged as much as 191.14 points to hit 35,704.85 and slipped as much as 131.63 points to an intraday low of 35,382.08. The Nifty50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange moved in a range of 10,729.40 and 10,628.65, logging a swing of 100.75 points compared with its previous close of 10,672.25.
Here are 10 things to know about Friday's trading session:
By late morning, stock markets were trading with mild gains. At 11:35 am, the Sensex traded at 35,576.48, up 62.77 points or 0.18 per cent from the previous close, and the Nifty was at 10,685.90, up 13.65 points or 0.13 per cent.
Prominent gainers on the 50-scrip index were Infratel, Tata Motors, ONGC, BPCL and SBI, trading between 1.75 and 2.89 per cent higher. Top laggards on the index were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Titan, trading between 0.67 and 2.16 per cent lower.
Main gainers on 30-scrip benchmark index were Tata Motors, Axis Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra and ONGC, trading between 1.12 per cent and 2.77 per cent higher. TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Tourbo and IndusInd Bank- trading between 0.19 per cent and 2.05 per cent lower - were among the main losers on the index.
Banking, auto, financial, realty and auto stocks were trading higher. While Nifty IT was down 1.70 per cent at that time. IT stocks are down ahead of corporate earnings scheduled to begin next week.
Software services majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are set to report their earnings during the October-December quarter next week.
According to Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, the domestic market has remained resilient in face of the worrisome news coming over the past three months, "An accommodative central bank, low inflation, strong credit growth and low crude remain four key macro pillars backstopping the domestic markets," he said.
Asian shares, on the other hand, found a crumb of comfort on Friday as Beijing announced a new round of trade talks with Washington, though recession fears still had markets betting the next move in US interest rates might be down. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.4 per cent, but was still down 1.8 per cent at the end of another rough week.
The rupee, meanwhile, appreciated by 34 paise to 69.86 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday amid weakening American currency.
Oil prices dropped on Friday after the United States followed most other major economies into a manufacturing downturn, although supply cuts by producer club OPEC kept declines in check. The benchmark Brent crude futures were trading marginally lower at $55.93 per barrel.
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 972.81 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 34.52 crore, provisional data available with the BSE showed. (With inputs from agencies)
