Mumbai: Firm world equities and strong gains in Reliance Industries (RIL) shares propelled the equity benchmark indices higher on Friday. However, the underlying sentiment was still shaky as investors kept a tab on the spread of coronavirus infections in the country.

RIL shares jumped 3.62 per cent to Rs 1,561.80 after the company said it will sell 2.3% stake in Jio Platforms to Vista Equity Partners for Rs 11,367 crore, giving its subsidiary an equity valuation of Rs 4.91 trillion.

After having rallied 645 points in the first half of the session, BSE barometer Sensex wipes off gains to end 199 points higher, mainly on account of profit booking in Axis Bank, HDFC, ITC and SBI. Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service projected India's growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal which hurt the market sentiment.

India registered over 3,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country surged to 56,342. In the light of weak macro-economic data, market participants keenly await the government's stimulus package.

Agencies

Key facts

• The 30-share Sensex closed 0.63 per cent or 199 points higher at 31,643, while the 50-share Nifty rose 0.57 per cent or 52 points to end at 9,252.

• Global shares rallied on Friday as investors cheered signs of improving Sino-US relations and looked towards more governments gradually reopening their economies, Reuters reported.

• The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was half a per cent higher.

• Moody's Investors Service on Friday projected India's growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal and said the negative outlook on sovereign rating reflects increasing risks that GDP growth will remain significantly lower than in the past.

Key market statistics

• Market breadth was weak even as the frontline indices closed higher. Losers outnumbered gainers in the ratio of 1.3:1 on the BSE.

• The volatility index or India Vix fell 3.48 per cent to 38.53.

• The broader market underperformed, with BSE Midcap index rising a mere 0.04 per cent while BSE Smallcap index dropped 0.45 per cent.

• In the sectoral space on BSE, the energy index was the top gainer, rising 2.59 per cent. Gujarat Gas was the best index performing, logging gains of 4.98 per cent.

• BSE FMCG index was the second-best performer as it added 1.87 per cent. EID Parry was the top gainer in the index, rallying 9.78 per cent.

• BSE Power index, on the other hand, was the worst sectoral performer as it shed 2.40 per cent. Torrent Power dropped 6.81 per cent.

• Half of 30 Sensex stocks ended in the green with RIL contributing over 75 per cent of the total Sensex gains.

• FMCG major Hindustan Unilever rallied 4.81 per cent after Societe Generale bought 1.29 crore shares of the company at Rs 1,902 per share.

• On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank were the top losers, falling 3.87 per cent and 3.81 per cent, respectively.

• Biocon rose 2.73 per cent after it said it got an establishment inspection report from USFDA for Bengaluru plant.

What are the experts saying?

What to watch out for?

• The extent of the spread of coronavirus infections in the country will be closely monitored, after the huge spike over the last few days.

• The second stimulus package from the government to help companies tide over the coronavirus crisis is keenly awaited.