Stock Market Today: Markets log gains for 2nd day on buying in Reliance, M&M

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed higher for a second straight day on Friday as buying in index majors M&M, Reliance Industries, and ITC helped the indices rebound from early lows.

However, relentless foreign fund outflows capped the sharp gains in domestic equities, traders said.

In a largely range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 253.31 points, or 0.34%, to settle at 73,917.03.

The NSE Nifty advanced 62.25 points, or 0.28%, to 22,466.10.

M&M was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 5.97% , followed by JSW Steel, Ultra Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC and NTPC.

Reliance Industries gained 0.73% to close at ₹2,871 apiece.

In contrast, TCS, HCL Tech, HUL, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro and Infosys were among the losers.

“Despite mixed global signals and uncertainties surrounding the U.S. Fed, the Indian market experienced a robust recovery, largely fuelled by the outperformance of the broader market and positive Q4 earnings.”

“Further, some index heavyweight earnings surpassed expectations, and midcap and smallcap stocks continued to exhibit buying interest during dips. Auto and consumer durables particularly stood out with strong earnings momentum,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge rose 1.18% and smallcap index gained 1.39%.

Sectorally, consumer durables jumped 2.41%, followed by auto (1.80%), realty (1.68%), metal (1.50%), commodities (1.55%), industrials (1.26%) and oil & gas (1.19%).

On the other hand, IT and tech were the laggards.

“World equities were mostly lower on Friday as traders now expect just one rate cut in 2024, though Chinese stocks reversed earlier losses following the announcement of fresh measures to revive the ailing property market,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong logged gains, while Seoul and Nikkei closed in the red.

European markets were trading in the negative territory. Wall Street ended in the green in the overnight trade on May 16.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.25% to $83.48 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹776.49 crore on May 16, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark climbed 676.69 points or 0.93% to settle at 73,663.72. The NSE Nifty surged 203.30 points or 0.92% to 22,403.85.