Sensex, Nifty gain by about one per cent each; Infosys overtakes HDFC in terms of market value

Domestic benchmark indices ended its two-day losing streak by closing in green on Friday as Sensex inched up by 0.94 per cent or 329.17 points to settle at 35,171.27 while Nifty gained by 0.91 per cent or 94.10 points to reach the level of 10,383.

At a global level, European indices such as FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 gained by 1.62 per cent, 0.99 per cent and 1.54 per cent respectively. Asian indices such as Shanghai index, Nikkei and KOSPI rose by 0.30 per cent, 1.13 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively whereas Hang Seng fell by 0.93 per cent.

During today's trading session, IT and banking stocks led the rally as Infosys gained by 6.94 per cent, TCS rose by 5.21 per cent, IndusInd Bank increased by 3.64 per cent, ONGC gained by 2.87 per cent, HDFC Bank rose by 2.59 per cent, HCL Technologies increased by 2.30 per cent, Larsen & Toubro gained by 2.05 per cent, Ultratech Cement rose by 1.49 per cent, etc.

ITC was the top loser amongst the Sensex losers. Ahead of its Q4FY20 results announcement, ITC dropped by 3.54 per cent as market experts believe that the company is expected to post up to 14 per cent contraction in its cigarette volumes due to hike in excise duty and lockdown imposed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Sensex losers comprised Bajaj Finance declining by 3.33 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank dropping by 3 per cent, Sun Pharmaceuticals dipping by 1.58 per cent, Bajaj Finserv decreasing by 1.11 per cent, Titan Company down by 1.10 per cent, etc.

Amongst BSE sectoral indices, IT index rose by 5.06 per cent while TECK index gained by 4.02 per cent. BSE small-cap index rose by 0.19 per cent and BSE mid-cap index increased by 0.27 per cent.