Sensex, Nifty Extend Gains For Sixth Day; Bank, Financial Stocks Surge

Sensex and Nifty settled on a higher note today.

Indian equity benchmarks on Friday extended their winning run for the sixth straight session, led by gains in banking and financial stocks. Domestic indices touched a seven-week high as foreign fund investments into equities strengthened.

Stocks in Asia were mixed as investors turned cautious over aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve that could send the global economy into recession. U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open after weak overnight earnings from tech company Snap Inc.

The U.S. Fed meets next week to set interest rates, and a 75 basis points (bps) hike is on the cards.

Back home, foreign investors purchased a net $832.2 billion worth of Indian equities this week till Thursday, marking their first net buying for the same period in 15 weeks, Refinitiv data showed.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 390 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 56,072 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 114 points or 0.69 per cent higher to settle at 16,719.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 settled flat and small-cap rose 0.37 per cent.

11 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank and Financial Services outperformed the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.49 per cent and 1.55 per cent, respectively.

However, Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma fell as much as 0.62 per cent and O.27 per cent, each.

On the stock-specific front, UltraTech Cement was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 4.90 per cent to Rs 6,431.20 after reporting a 28 per cent jump in net sales for the quarter ended June. Grasim, UPL, HDFC, HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood slightly positive as 1,787 shares advanced while 1,535 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, UltraTech Cement, HDFC twins, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, Reliance Industries and M&M were among the top gainers with their shares up as much as 5.03 per cent.

Further, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, edged 0.20 per cent higher to end at Rs 688.95.

In contrast, Infosys, NTPC, PowerGrid, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel finished in the red.