Markets fortify gains in choppy trade

CHENNAI: Oscillating sentiment besetting trade guided global equity markets on Friday, with seemingly more to come in the following week ahead of the corporate earnings season amid lacklustre overseas cues.

The 30-share, moving in a tight range for the better part of the session on scattered deals, hit a low of 33,501.37 and a high of 33,697.51 before finishing at 33,626.97 points, up 30.17 points or 0.09 per cent. The gauge had soared almost 578 points in the previous session after the RBI kept the policy rate unchanged. Meanwhile, the broader NSE Nifty inched up 6.45 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 10,331.60.

Intraday, it shuttled between 10,290.85 and 10,350.45. Global markets were thrown into a fresh round of uncertainty after US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric with China, seeking $100 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese imports. “Focus has shifted to earnings growth, which is at an early stage of revival. Any scope of an upgrade will reduce volatility due to global headwinds. PSU banks and pharma stocks outperformed due to gradual accumulation and US FDA approvals,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In the pack, ICICI Bank emerged as the top gainer by rising 0.97 per cent, while Tata Steel advanced 0.92 per cent. Companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy’s, SBI, Yes Bank, ITC, RIL, NTPC, HDFC Ltd, Power Grid and Tata Motors finished with modest gains. However, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Larsen & Toubro were the major losers.