Indian stock markets ended the week on a positive note on Friday, extending their winning streak to a third consecutive session, with the Nifty closing above the 24,250 mark, supported by buying in IT, pharma, metal and realty stocks.
At the close, the Sensex was up 261.79 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 77,763.91, while the Nifty gained 95.15 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 24,270.85. For the week, the BSE Sensex and the Nifty added nearly 1 per cent each.
Among the sectors, buying was witnessed in select heavyweights from the IT, pharma and banking sectors amid largely positive global cues. Investor sentiment remained positive on expectations of less aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
Nifty Realty emerged as the top gainer, rising 2 per cent, followed by Nifty IT (up 1.7 per cent), Nifty Pharma (up 1.7 per cent) and Nifty Metal (up 0.7 per cent). On the losing side, Nifty PSU Bank declined 1.5 per cent, followed by Nifty Energy (down 1.3 per cent), Nifty Auto (down 0.4 per cent), Nifty Media (down 0.4 per cent), Nifty Consumer Durables (down 0.3 per cent) and Nifty Bank (down 0.16 per cent).
The top gainers on the Nifty were HCL Technologies, Max Healthcare, Bajaj Finserv, Apollo Hospitals and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, while the major losers included Axis Bank, M&M, SBI, L&T and Tech Mahindra.
Nearly 160 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE. These included Manappuram Finance, Aditya Birla Capital, Aurobindo Pharma, Nuvama Wealth Management, CreditAccess Grameen, Oberoi Realty, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, Bosch, Apollo Hospitals, Cement India Projects, Grasim Industries, Aadhar Housing Finance, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, The Phoenix Mills, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Federal Bank, Granules India and Pidilite Industries, among others.
Among technology stocks, HCL Technologies, Oracle Financial Services Software, Mphasis and Persistent Systems attracted fresh buying, advancing more than 2 per cent each.
Meanwhile, Hitachi Energy India, Siemens Energy India, Thermax and Apar Industries were among the major losers, falling between 6 per cent and 9 per cent.