Sensex, Nifty on Friday: Twenty nine stocks on the 50-scrip Nifty index finished in the positive zoneDomestic stock markets moved higher on Friday, driven by IT stocks which got a boost owing to the latest bout of weakness in the rupee against the US dollar.
BSE benchmark index Sensex advanced145 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at36,496 while the NSE Nifty settled at11,010, up53 points or 0.5 per cent.
Besides IT stocks, led by Infosys and Infibeam which gained 3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, pharma stocks also supported the markets during Friday's session.That concluded the week with a mild loss of 8 points for the Nifty and45 points for the Sensex.Here are 10 things to know:1.
Twenty nine stocks on the 50-scrip Nifty index finished in the positive zone.
Top gainers on the index wereInfosys, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, closing with gains between 2.5 per cent and 8 per cent.2.
The Nifty IT - the NSE's sectoral index comprising IT stocks - jumped 1.5 per cent.Tech Mahindra rose 2.5 per cent and HCL Tech rose 1.6 per cent while TCS finished 0.8 per cent higher.
Wipro, however, buckedthe trend with a loss of1.5 per cent, ahead of release of the IT company's earnings for the April-June quarter.3.
The rupee hit a record low of 69.12 against the US dollar during Friday's session, tracking weakness in the yuan with traders monitoring the domestic stock market for further direction.A weaker rupee could translate into higher returns from the US market, the biggest source of revenue for technology companies.4.Analysts expect the rupee to slide further below against the greenback with expectations of intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to curb its fall.5.
"Last two days (of) weakening could be due to the political show of strength by the opposition.
However, our view is that rupee will continue to be weak and could see 69.20/25 levels.
Our sense is that RBI will continue to intervene actively to keep it at around 69 levels," said Salil Datar, CEO and executive director, Essel Finance VKC Forex.6.
Investors were cautious due to political uncertainty, say analysts.
A no-confidence motion is currently underway in Parliament against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.7.
"There is a lot of nervousness around the no-confidence motion.
It will, most likely, not get passed and the government will sail through.
Nonetheless, any political instability impacts market sentiment in the near term," news agency Reuters cited Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities, as saying.8.Pharma stocks also soared, with the Nifty Pharma settling 1.7 per cent higher.
Pharma stocks were led higher by heavyweight Sun Pharma, which finished with a gain of nearly 3 per cent.
Cipla rose 2.6 per cent while Aurobindo Pharma went up 2.3 per cent.9.
Shares in non-banking finance firm Bajaj Finance closed 8 per cent higher, making the stock the biggest percentage gainer on the Nifty.
Brokerage Jefferies raised the stock's price target, saying core fundamentals of the company are intact.Bajaj Finserv gained nearly 6 per cent, a day after the Bajaj Group-owned asset andwealth management firm posted a 41 per cent surge in net profit for the April-June period.10.
On Thursday, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 470.02 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 315.69 crore, according to provisional data from the NSE.(With agency inputs)