Mumbai: The equity markets started the year on a marginally positive note as the benchmark Sensex and Nifty eked out small gains even as the small and mid cap stocks continued with their winning streak.
After opening the day on a weak note, the Sensex closed the day at 26,160.90, gaining 43.36 points or 0.17 per cent while the BSE small and mid cap indices ended the day with a gain of 0.88 per cent and 0.92 per cent respectively.
The Nifty gained 16.85 points or 0.21 per cent to end the day at 7,963.20. The broader market remained positive amidst a rally in small and mid cap stocks with 1,996 stocks traded on BSE closing the day higher as compared to 833 stocks that declined.
“Domestic investors are actively participating in the market. That is why, we are seeing a rally in small and mid cap stocks. Moreover, the rollover of December derivative contracts showed that traders have carried forward most of their long positions, which indicates that they are slightly bullish on the markets in the near term,” said Uday Narayan Dubey, vice-president, institutional desk at R.K.Global.
According to the provisional data released by the exchanges, foreign portfolio investors bought sha-res worth Rs 228.11 crore. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee came under selling pressure in the intra-day trade amidst heavy demand for dollars from importers. After opening the day on a weak note, the rupee hit an intra-day low of 66.35 per dollar before closing the day at 66.14 compared to its previous day’s close of 66.15 per dollar. Interest rate sensitive auto and bank stocks led the rally on Friday. While the shares of Tata Motors gained 2.66 per cent, SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank climbed 1.45 per cent, 0.59 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively.
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