Sensex gains over 200 points, Nifty inches closer to 21,000

Benchmark stock market indices opened on a positive note on Friday as investors remain optimistic ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy announcement.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 203.95 points at 69,725.64 at 9:44 am, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 72.70 points to reach 20,973.85, inching closer to the 21,000 milestone.

Broader market indices also witnessed decent gains in early trade, while Nifty Metal emerged as the top gainer among sectoral indices, rising nearly 1.5 per cent.

The top five gainers on the Nifty 50 were JSW Steel, HCLTech, NTPC, Hindalco and UPL. On the other hand, the top losers were Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s and Divi’s Laboratories.

Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, said, “On the weekly expiry day, the Index remained rangebound and finally settled lower at 20,901.15. Nifty50 has made a small bearish candle on the daily chart which indicates a contraction of the range. For the past 2 days, the Index has been stuck in the range of 20,960-20,850, a breakout on either side will give a proper direction.”

“Ahead of the MPC meeting, the market is expected to be in a narrow range. A substantial recovery was seen in the BankNifty and the range is 46,500-47,230,” he noted.

“From the Energy segment, the power stocks have shown real power and we have technical coverage on some counters namely BHEL, JSW Energy, NLC India, PTC India and Tata Power and we continue to stick with the same. The pharma segment is likely to regain its lost momentum by giving a Flag pattern breakout (AuroPharma, Granules, and Zydus Life),” Gaggar added.