Closing Bell: Sensex Ends Marginally Higher At 41,682, Nifty Also Up By 12 Points

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rose marginally to close at fresh lifetime highs on Friday, tracking gains in index heavyweights ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank. Gains were muted as investors turned jittery at the fag end of the session on macroeconomic concerns after Fitch Ratings cut India’s GDP growth forecast for 2019-20, traders said.

Settling at a record high for the fourth consecutive session, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 7.62 points, or 0.02 per cent, higher at 41,681.54. It hit a lifetime intra-day high of 41,809.96 during the session. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 12.10 points, or 0.09 per cent, to its new record of 12,271.80.

It hit an intra-day high of 12,293.90. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 3.23 per cent, followed by SBI, Yes Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, Vedanta was the biggest loser, shedding 3.45 per cent. Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, ITC, M&M and Sun Pharma too ended in the red.

On Thursday i.e. in the previous session, the 30-share gauge settled 115.35 points, or 0.28 per cent, higher at its fresh closing record of 41,673.92. Similarly, the Nifty rose 38.05 points, or 0.31 per cent, to its new peak of 12,259.70. Benchmark indices on Wall Street ended higher on Thursday.

According to traders, participants offloaded equities at the fag end of the session on concerns over economic growth after Fitch Ratings cut India’s GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 fiscal year to 4.6 per cent on deterioration in business and consumer confidence. Stocks traded with a positive bias during the day on hopes of Budget stimulus to spur economic growth, analysts said.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were trading on a positive note, while those in Tokyo were in the red. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.11 per cent to USD 66.61 per barrel. Meanwhile, on the currency front, the rupee depreciated 8 paise to 71.11 against the US dollar in the opening (morning) session.

Benchmark indices in Europe were trading higher in their respective early sessions. On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 13 paise against the US dollar to 71.16 (intra-day). Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.14 per cent to USD 66.45 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)