Sensex, Nifty make gains in cautious trading
Equity benchmark indices Sensex gained more than 140 points and Nifty rose 57 points in early trade on Friday as investors seemed to be relatively cautious amid mixed global cues.
Economic growth of 7.8 per cent in the three months ended June, the highest in the past four quarters, helped investor sentiments.
The 30-share Sensex climbed 142.02 points or 0.22 per cent to 64,973.43 points, while the broader Nifty went up 57.60 points or 0.3 per cent to 19,311.40 points.
The majority of the stocks on both the Sensex and Nifty were in positive territory. In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel gained more than 3 per cent.
Most of the Asian markets were in the green on Friday, while European and US shares closed in the red on Thursday.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said US stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday to end August on a sour note, after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge proved largely in line with expectations for July, leaving investors looking ahead to Friday’s August jobs report.
Stocks in Asia broadly advanced as China rolled out more stimulus to aid its ailing economy, he added.
Official data released on Thursday showed that the Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the June quarter, mainly on the back of double-digit expansion in the services sector, and retained its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Crude futures were marginally higher at $87.02 per barrel.
On Thursday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of domestic equities as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,973.10 crore, according to exchange data.