The last two trading sessions of a record breaking week were subdued for India's equity markets. Yet, they managed to register their second straight weekly advance.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.2% higher at 43,443 while the NSE Nifty 50 index gained 0.2% to end at 12,719. The benchmark indices gained in four out of the five trading sessions this week and are up for nine out of the 10 trading sessions of the month.
For the week, both Sensex and Nifty ended with gains of over 3.5%.
For today's session, it was Pharma, Metals and Realty that led the gains. The Nifty Metal index ended 1.6% higher while the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty index gained over 1% each, as did the PSU Bank index. The Media index, though ending off the day's low, was the top sectoral laggard, ending 1% lower.
Broader markets outperformed for the second day in a row. THe Nifty Midcap index gained 1% while the Smallcap index ended with gains of 0.8%.
India volatility index ended 4.2% lower, ending at 19.75.
The outperformance of the broader markets led to the market breadth being in favour of the gainers. 1,123 stocks on the NSE ended with gains while 711 stocks declined.
