India's benchmark stock indices erased earlier losses to close little changed on Friday, led by gains in rate-sensitive realty and banking stocks after the Reserve Bank of India kept the rate unchanged at policy. This helped the indices clock their third weekly gain.
The NSE Nifty 50 settled 10.85 points, or 0.048%, higher at 22,525.50, and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 20.59 points, or 0.028%, to end at 74,248.22.
The Nifty declined to hit an intraday low of 22,427.60, and the Sensex touched a low of 73,946.92 during the day.
"The market sentiment remained positive in the run-up to the general elections. Domestic markets were unfazed by the volatility in global markets and remained in a buoyant mode before the start of the Q4 FY24 earnings season as well as the upcoming general elections," said Shrikant Chouhan, head equity of research at Kotak Securities.
"Following the RBI policy announcement, the Bank Nifty maintained its robust momentum, remaining above the crucial level of 48,000. This suggests the potential for reaching new all-time highs next week, possibly even touching the 50,000 mark," said Kunal Shah, senior Technical and derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.
"Notably, aggressive put writing has been observed at lower strikes, establishing a supportive base in the 48,200-48,000 zone, which is anticipated to serve as a cushion for bullish sentiment," he said,
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.84%, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.81% in the week ended on April 5.
HDFC Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India contributed to the gain in Nifty 50.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. weighed on the index.
On NSE, 11 out of 12 sectors ended higher this week, and one declined. The NSE Nifty Media was the top performer, while the NSE Nifty FMCG index was the worst performer among its peers.
Broader markets outperformed their larger peers, with the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap, each, ending 0.5% higher on Friday.
On BSE, 11 out of 20 sectors advanced, while nine declined. The S&P BSE Realty rose the most.
Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. On BSE, 2,429 stocks rose, 1,413 stocks declined, and 106 remained unchanged.
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