Market Wrap Sept 12: SENSEX gains 356 pts, NIFTY50 crosses 25,100; metal stocks shine, BEL rises 4%

The Indian stock market closed higher for the fifth straight session on Friday, September 12, ahead of August inflation data as metal stocks gained. Positive global cues also made investors optimistic.

With Friday’s close, the main benchmark equity indices posted weekly gains, as the SENSEX and NIFTY50 rose by 1.5% each. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 outperformed, rallying 2% each over the week, while Nifty Bank gained 1.3%.

Investors are also awaiting the outcome of the market regulator SEBI’s board meeting scheduled for Friday, where a range of regulatory reforms is expected to be discussed.

According to exchange data, on Thursday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹3,472.37 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹4,045.54 crore on a net basis.

Globally, most of the indices in Asia extended their rally on Friday following the US market amid high expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

South Korea's KOSPI was up 1.51%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng zoomed 1.15%, and Japan's Nikkei index gained 0.91%. The Shanghai Composite, however, slipped 0.12%.

On Wall Street, the indices closed at new record highs on Thursday as tech stocks rallied and investors waited for the Fed meeting next week after US consumer and jobless data.

The S&P 500 rose 0.85% to end at the 6,587.47 level, the Nasdaq climbed 0.72% to close at 22,043.08 points, while the Dow Jones rose 1.36% to settle at the 46,108.00 level.

As many as 3,145 stocks traded on the NSE on Friday. Out of this, 1,561 advanced and 1,483 stocks declined, while 101 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

A total of 79 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 33 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 104 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 56 touched their lower circuit bands on Friday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹455.58 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 10.12 levels, falling 2.29%.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.64% to close at 17,989.90, led by strong gains in JBM Auto (13.29%), Hindustan Copper (12.12%), and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (10%).

Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.32%, ending at 58,227.20, driven by rallies in Cochin Shipyard (6.37%), Bharat Dynamics (5.69%), and Mazagon Dock (4.82%).

Nifty Metal led the sectoral gains, rising 0.93%, followed by Nifty Pharma (0.53%) and Nifty Auto (0.46%). In contrast, Nifty FMCG (-0.71%), Nifty Media (-0.39%), and Nifty PSU Bank (-0.27%) were the top laggards.

On the NIFTY50 index, 30 stocks advanced while 20 declined on Friday.

Bharat Electronics was the most contributing stock, surging 3.71%, followed by Bajaj Finance (3.34%), Bajaj Finserv (2.23%), Hindalco Industries (2.05%) and Eicher Motors (1.73%).

On the flip side, Eternal (-1.9%), Hindustan Unilever (-1.53%), IndusInd Bank (-1.02%), Bajaj Auto (-0.97%) and Trent (-0.81%) were the top laggards on the 50-share index.