The Sensex ended the session at 62,502 points, gaining 629 points or 1.02 per cent while the Nifty50 ended the day at 18,499 points, a gain of 178 points or 0.97 per cent. Friday’s close is the highest for both indices since December 14, 2022.
In the US and Europe, stocks of chipmakers also gained after they posted better than expected results. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 350 crore on Friday, according to provisional data from exchanges.
News of progress in US debt ceiling negotiations further enthused investors as reports suggested that Republican and White House negotiators have narrowed differences in talks over recent days and are moving closer to an agreement to raise the debt limit and cap federal spending for two years.
For the week though, Indian equity markets had traded flat amid concerns about the US debt negotiations and renewed fears of rate hikes. The US personal consumption expenditures price index, one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauges, rose by a faster-than-expected 0.4% in April, fuelling concerns that the US central bank has its work cut out to bring inflation back to its target.
“After consolidating for the last few days, the Nifty50 has surpassed the resistance of 18,450 zones. We expect this momentum to continue and the 50-shae index to touch its previous lifetime high in the coming weeks. The index is now just 380 points or 2% away from its lifetime high. With the results season nearing its end, the focus will shift to macro data, US debt negotiations and upcoming central bank policy meetings,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The market breadth was strong, with 1,907 stocks gaining and 1,600 declining. All the Sensex constituents, barring three, gained. Realty stocks gained the most, and its sectoral index on the BSE rose 1.3 per cent.