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Stock market close: Sensex gains 308 points to 74,459, Nifty at 23,053 as IT rallies; smallcaps fall 1.85%
The Sensex rose 308.49 points, or 0.42%, to 74,459.53 on Friday, 30 October, and the Nifty gained 116.35 points to 23,053.10, led by IT and pharma. Midcaps fell 0.93% and smallcaps 1.85%, and about 2,500 stocks declined against roughly 1,000 that advanced.
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The Sensex rose for a second straight session on Friday, 30 October, ending 308.49 points, or 0.42%, higher at 74,459.53, and the Nifty 50 gained 116.35 points, or 0.51%, to close at 23,053.10. Information technology and pharma shares led the rise, but the broader market was weak, with midcaps and smallcaps falling and far more stocks declining than advancing. The Nifty is up roughly 2% on the week, recovering the previous week's losses, according to one report.
The indices
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 74,459.53 | +308.49 (+0.42%) |
| Nifty 50 | 23,053.10 | +116.35 (+0.51%) |
| Nifty Midcap 100 | 57,301.25 | −540.40 (−0.93%) |
| Nifty Smallcap 100 | 18,463.60 | −347.75 (−1.85%) |
| Nifty IT | 32,606.90 | +740.50 (+2.32%) |
Among other indices, the Nifty Next 50 fell 0.61%, the Nifty Bank 0.41% and the Nifty Midcap Select 1.47%, while the Nifty Financial Services slipped 0.03% and the Nifty FPI 150 rose 0.16%. Nifty Auto fell 0.87% to 25,422.70 and Nifty FMCG fell 0.62% to 43,609.20. Another report puts the gain in Nifty IT at 2.16%, which shows how the figure can differ by source, and says that Nifty Pharma rose 1.67% and Nifty Healthcare 1.59%, while Nifty Media fell 1.58%, Nifty PSU Bank 1.15% and Nifty Realty 0.93%.
Breadth
Of 3,633 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange, 1,013 advanced, 2,511 declined and 109 were unchanged, so about seven in ten stocks fell. The India VIX, the market's fear gauge, rose about 2%, according to one report.
Gainers and losers on the Nifty 50
Top gainers:
| Stock | Change | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Trent | +5.44% | Rs 3,017.30 |
| IndiGo | +4.33% | Rs 4,877.60 |
| Infosys | +3.36% | Rs 1,185.00 |
| Apollo Hospitals | +3.02% | Rs 8,448.00 |
| Power Grid | +1.92% | Rs 265.00 |
The top losers were Shriram Finance (down 2.13% to Rs 823.15), Nestle India (down 1.82% to Rs 1,167.00), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.72% to Rs 2,840.30), Jio Financial Services (down 1.21% to Rs 204.50) and Adani Ports (down 1.18% to Rs 1,850.00).
Outside the Nifty 50's top five, Wipro and Coforge each gained more than 4%, HCL Technologies 1.72%, Tech Mahindra 1.20% and TCS 0.99%. One report ties the IT rally to the quarterly earnings of Cognizant.
Trent reported revenue up 22.5% year on year to Rs 5,788 crore, with net profit up 8.6% to Rs 490 crore. InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, narrowed its quarterly loss to Rs 1,879 crore from Rs 2,581.7 crore a year earlier. Coal India fell about 2.5% after its quarterly profit missed expectations, and Paradeep Phosphates dropped 11% and Thyrocare Technologies 6% after a sharp fall in their September-quarter profit.
- Weak global cues. The Kospi fell by as much as 4%, the Shanghai SSE Composite 1.5% and the Nikkei 225 by more than 2%, and US futures were up to 1% lower. Concerns about technology spending and the growth of technology companies, along with inflation data, weighed on sentiment. Another report says the Kospi ended 3.61% lower at 5,730 and the Nikkei 2.52% lower at 63,070, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.47%.
- Crude oil. Brent rose about 2% on fears of renewed US–Iran military action that could affect supply. The reports give different levels, from about USD 113 to about USD 117 a barrel. A market strategist said high Brent amid Middle East tensions is a key concern for India's import bill, inflation and currency.
- Profit booking. The Sensex and the Nifty had each gained more than 1% in the previous session, and investors booked profits at higher levels.
- Foreign selling. Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 944 crore on Thursday, after two sessions of buying.
The rupee gained 7 paise to 95.19 against the US dollar in early trade, from Thursday's close of 95.26, and reached about 95.07 by the afternoon, according to one analyst, who linked the move partly to lower US 10-year yields of 4.90% and a dollar index near 101.75. In the commodities market, 24-karat gold fell 0.58% to Rs 1,41,768 per 10 grams and silver fell 2.35% to Rs 1,84,997 per kg.
The index gains on Friday were led by the IT sector, with Infosys among the biggest gainers on the Nifty, while the midcap and smallcap indices lost ground and about seven in ten stocks fell. The reports found do not give domestic institutional flows for the day. With Brent above USD 113 and foreign investors selling on Thursday, the next sessions will depend on oil, foreign flows and the remaining September-quarter results.
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