Domestic equities gain for fourth straight session

Mumbai, Feb 16 (IANS) Domestic equities gained for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, recovering more than 500 points or 2.3 per cent, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

While Nifty surged by 0.59 per cent (130 points) and closed at 22,040.70, Sensex closed moderately higher by 0.52 per cent (376 points) at 72,426.64.

All sectors ended in green, barring opil & gas as Indian markets showed resilience despite volatility.

The Q3 earnings season has ended on a buoyant note with Nifty delivering a strong beat with a 17 per cent YoY PAT growth versus an estimate of 11 per cent.

“We expect market sentiment to strengthen further as the prospect of a pre-election rally is quite strong. Nifty is hovering near all-time zones and is all set to make new highs next week," Khemka said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the Indian market continued its broad-based recovery on Friday, aided by positive global cues.

Further, narrowing India’s trade deficit, led by softening commodity prices and a manufacturing push by the government, attracted investors to capital goods, metals, and industrial stocks.

On the global front, an expectation of a pickup in consumption demand in China after the Lunar New Year holidays supported the global market sentiment, Nair said.