Mumbai, Dec 19 (IANS) Indian stock markets ended Friday’s session on a strong note, supported by steady buying in heavyweight stocks.
Positive investor sentiment was also driven by the upbeat stock market debut of ICICI Prudential AMC and a recovery in the Indian rupee.
At the closing bell, the Sensex started the day with a positive gap of around 275 points and continued to gain strength through the session.
It touched an intra-day high of 85,067.50 before closing 447.55 points higher, or 0.5 per cent up, at 84,929.
The Nifty also saw a firm trend. The index climbed to a high of 25,993 during the day and finally settled at 25,966, ending 151 points higher.
“Given the recent rebound and a breakout above the falling trend line, a Santa rally in the coming week looks possible, which may propel Nifty towards the 26,200 mark. On the downside, key support is positioned around 25,700,” experts stated.
Among Sensex stocks, Bharat Electronics, Power Grid Corporation and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the top gainers, rising more than 2 per cent each.
Shares of Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Infosys also performed well, gaining around 1 per cent each.
On the downside, HCL Technologies slipped about 1 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and TCS were the only other Sensex stocks to close in negative territory.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices jumping around 1.3 per cent each.
Market breadth remained positive, as nearly two stocks advanced for every one stock that declined on the BSE.
The Indian rupee also ended the day on a strong footing. It closed at 89.25 against the US dollar, helped by a late-session surge, adding to the overall positive mood in the markets.
“While sentiment remains constructive, near-term volatility may persist amid uncertainty over trade deal timelines and upcoming macro data releases,” market watchers mentioned.
–IANS
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