Sensex zooms 689 points to hit fresh closing high; Nifty settles near 14,350 – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Equity indices scaled new highs on Friday as investors shifted their focus to the third-quarter earnings season. The benchmark BSE sensex soared 689 points or 1.43 per cent to hit record closing of 48,783; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 210 points or 1.48 per cent to settle at fresh peak of 14,347.
Top gainers in the BSE pack included Tech Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, PowerGrid, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with their stocks rising as much as 5.86 per cent. TCS is scheduled to announce its Q3 results later in the day.
On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty IT, Nifty Media and Nifty Auto outperformed the index by rising as much as 3.61 per cent.
“Markets are focusing on earnings, more so on key sectors like IT and banking wherein they are keenly eyeing how the results pan out,” Narendra Solanki, head of equity research (fundamental) at Anand Rathi Investment Services, told news agency Reuters.
“IT is being seen as performing good, based on last quarter’s optimistic management commentary on outlook in India and globally,” he added
Separately, the government on Thursday estimated that the economy would contract 7.7% in the current financial year, broadly in line with forecasts of private economists and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
According to Binod Modi, head-strategy at Reliance Securities, domestic equities continue to look steady and firm at the moment.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 382.30 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Broader Asian markets scaled fresh highs on Friday after Wall Street hit record levels overnight, as investors bet on an economic recovery later in the year.
(With inputs from agencies)