Market Regains After Robust Buying; IT, Auto Lift Nifty Above 21,500

The Indian stock market finally regained momentum after three days and concluded the week's trading with gains aided by buying in IT, Auto and other sectors. 

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 index concluded the week 0.75 per cent higher at 21,622, whereas the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex settled 0.68 per cent down at 71,673 levels.

In the Nifty50 index, ONGC topped the index with 3.64 per cent gains followed by 3.49 per cent and 3.06 per cent gains in Bharti Airtel and  NTPC respectively. Tech Mahindra , SBI Life, Tata Steel and Britannia also traded with decent gains of more than 2 per cent in the index.

In the laggard segment, only nine stocks declined in the index. IndusInd Bank traded 3.21 per cent lower, while HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank lost 1.04 per cent and 0.73 per cent respectively. Divis Lab, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, SBI, Reliance and Sun Pharma traded with marginal loss.

Trading Guide
“Markets rebounded from its three-days losing streak on renewed all-round buying support, aided by recovery in global indices. The recent fall was extremely fast-paced and concerns of higher valuations along with global factors prompted investors to book profit. However, India's strong growth prospects in the long term will always provide a cushion to the falling markets,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Sectoral Movement
In terms of sector performance, all the indices traded with decent gains. Bank and Finance traded with marginal gains. Auto, IT and PSU Banks traded highest with 1 per cent gains while Pharma recovered from early setbacks.  

Besides, the more domestically focussed indices, mid-cap and small-cap also gained 1.52 per cent and 1.09 per cent respectively.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, REC traded highest with 6.5 per cent gains, while Oracle Financial Services extended its magnificent rally to 5.07 per cent due to its robust Q3 numbers followed by 5 per cent gains in Power Finance Corp. Cummins and Indian Hotels rallied 4 per cent.

Conversely, Zee Entertainment remained 5.32 per cent dull, while Tata Communication and Coforge lost more than 1 per cent.

Stocks Specific
Aarti Industries stocks spiked more than 11 per cent in the Friday trading session to trade above a 52-week high of Rs 663 after the bullish commentary by brokerage firms Morgan Stanley and Emkay.

Metro Brands dipped 3.91 per cent to Rs 1,165 on the bourses in the Friday trading session after the company declared the December quarter earnings with a decrease in profitability.

Poonawala Fincorp rallied jumped more than 2 per cent to trade above Rs 503 after the firm posted its robust Q3 numbers for December quarter.

In the IPO segment, Shree Marutinandan Tubes listed with 46 per cent premium on the BSE SME platform. The stock opened at Rs 200 against its issue price of Rs 143.