Sensex snaps 4-day losing streak, ends 290 points higher

The Sensex snapped a four-day losing streak and staged strong performance in the last one and half hour of the trade. The markets had witnessed volatility in the first half session of the trade. However, positive European cues and 2.8% surge in Hang Seng lifted the markets. Buying was seen across all the sectors but major upsurge in oil & gas, metal, auto (barring Tata Motors), capital goods and FMCG supported the Nifty to close above the 4650 level.

The equity benchmarks erased most of the week's losses. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 290.79 points or 1.89%, to settle at 15,689.12. The 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 4680.40, up 86.86 points or 1.89% over previous close. They were down 1.5% and 1.1% this week, respectively.

The Nifty futures ended with a premium of around 15 points. The Nifty open interest PCR (put-call ratio) also picked up, as big build-up was seen at 4500 Put while unwinding of positions was seen at 4700 Call.

Recently listed NHPC and Adani Power closed below their issue prices of Rs 36 and Rs 100, respectively. NHPC fell 2.35%, to 35.25 and Adani Power closed at 98.60, down 1.45%.

At the time of closing of Indian equities, European markets were up 0.5-1% while the US index futures gained 0.2-0.4%. Asian markets ended mixed; Shanghai, Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted were up 0.6-0.9%. However, Nikkei and Kospi fell 0.3% each. The US markets had also snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday and ended marginally higher on better-than-expected retail sales day.

Autos were the star performers of the day. The BSE Auto Index outperformed the other indices, up 2.9%. Amtek Auto shot up 15.93%. M&M, Escorts and MRF gained 6% each. Hero Honda, Ashok Leyland and Maruti Suzuki were up 2.5-4%. Bajaj Auto and Bharat Forge gained 1.2-1.7%. However, Tata Motors was down just 0.3%.