Indian Markets Rise For 4th Day, Auto & IT Shares Surge - NSE Nifty Above 22,000

Mumbai, Feb 16 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices marched higher for the fourth straight session on Friday, with Nifty closing above the 22,000 level, tracking gains in blue chips like L&T, Infosys and M&M, amid a firm trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 376.26 points or 0.52 per cent to close at 72,426.64. The index touched a high of 72,545.33 and a low of 72,218.10 during intraday trade.

The broader NSE Nifty also climbed 129.95 points or 0.59 per cent to end at points 22,040.70.

"A surge in buying interest for large-cap stocks propelled the Nifty back above the recent consolidation level, leading to the highest-ever closing on the weekly timeframe," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

Wipro was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, rising 4.79 per cent, followed by M&M, L&T, Tata Motors, Maruti, Infosys, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank.

Shares of M&M shot up 3.96 per cent to finish at Rs 1,835.55 apiece after it announced its supply agreement with German automotive major Volkswagen Group for electric vehicle components under their joint vision for electric mobility collaboration.

In contrast, PowerGrid, SBI, Reliance, NTPC and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

"The Indian market continued its broad-based recovery, aided by positive global cues. Further, narrowing India's trade deficit, led by softening commodity prices and a manufacturing push by the government, attracted investors to capital goods, metals, and industrial stocks.

"On the global front, an expectation of a pickup in consumption demand in China after the New Year holidays supported the global market sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Among sectoral indices, auto surged 2.17 per cent, followed by realty (1.53 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.41 per cent), capital goods (1.38 per cent) and healthcare (1.26 per cent).

Utilities, oil & gas, power and energy indices declined up to 0.80 per cent.

BSE smallcap index rose 0.68 per cent, while the midcap closed with a gain of 0.78 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi settled with significant gains.

China's financial markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.

The US market closed higher in the overnight trade on Thursday.

"Indian markets showed resilience despite volatility. Q3 earning season has ended on a buoyant note, with Nifty delivering a strong beat with a 17 per cent year-on-year PAT growth vs an estimated 11 per cent.

"We expect market sentiment to strengthen further as the prospect of a pre-election rally is quite strong," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.83 per cent to USD 82.17 a barrel.

In the previous session, the 30-share index climbed 227.55 points or 0.32 per cent to close at 72,050.38 points, while NSE Nifty gained 70.70 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 21,910.75.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 3,064.15 crore, according to exchange data.