On the 30-share Sensex, shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever followed the progress, each rising between 1% and 2%. Power Grid, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Infosys weighed on the index, falling within a range of 0.4% to 1.4%.The Sensex and Nifty hit record highs on Thursday, marking new peaks for the first time in about 14 months. For November, the benchmarks each posted a gain of about 2%.
In the broader market, small-cap stocks fell 3% this month, while mid-caps bucked the trend and gained about 2% in November.
Expert views
Indian equities remained resilient even as the recent rebound saw selective profit booking in the broader market, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments. He added that sentiment was supported by progress in India-US trade talks, while strong performance in large cap, auto, financial and pharmaceutical sectors helped maintain positive momentum. “Supportive global cues, including a sustained tech-led rally and rising expectations of a Fed rate cut, have further strengthened investor confidence. With Q2 GDP and IIP data due soon, the overall outlook remains constructive and the data is expected to confirm an improving macro trend,” Nair said.
Global markets
Asian markets held steady on Friday as renewed hopes for an impending US rate cut eased valuation concerns and extended the rally in government bonds for a fourth straight month. With US markets closed for Thanksgiving and a shortened session planned, trading volumes were subdued across all asset classes. European shares were mostly higher, while currency moves remained subdued.
European stock futures rose 0.1% in Asia and FTSE futures rose 0.2%. Futures on Wall Street were limited by a data outage at CME Group that disrupted trading in currency, commodity and government bond-linked contracts.
MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index fell 0.3% on the day but was still up 2.7% for the week, its first weekly gain in four, although it was still down 3% for the month. Japan’s Nikkei was little changed and on track for a weekly gain of 3.2%, despite falling 4.3% in November.
South Korean shares fell 1.5% after the central bank kept interest rates steady and signaled an end to easing, although the index is still up 1.9% this week.
Spot gold climbed 0.6% to $4,182 an ounce, pushing monthly gains to 4.5%, although prices remain below a record high of $4,381.
Rough impact
Brent crude moved higher on Friday, supported by ongoing geopolitical tensions as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine continued, with investors also focusing on Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting for signals on possible output adjustments.
The Brent contract for the first month of January, which expires later in the session, rose 15 cents, or 0.24%, to $63.58 a barrel at 0738 GMT, after gaining 21 cents on Thursday. The more actively traded February contract rose 15 cents to $62.99.
Rupee vs dollar
The Indian rupee weakened slightly on Friday, falling 7 paise to a provisional close of 89.43 against the US dollar as a firmer dollar and higher crude oil prices weighed on the currency.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.18% to 99.69.
(with input from agencies)
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