Sensex jumps 158 points as S&P upgrades India's credit outlook

Our BureauAgenices Updated - March 12, 2018 at 09:30 PM.

The Sensex and the Nifty rose nearly 0.7 per cent at the closing session on Friday after S&P revised its outlook on India to stable from negative.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex jumped 157.96 points at 26,626.32 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty gained 57 points at 7,968.85.

Sectoral indices

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal, PSU, healthcare and banking indices were the star-performers and were up 2.49 per cent, 2.27 per cent, 2.19 per cent and 1.91 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, TECk index fell the most by 0.55 per cent, followed by IT 0.53 per cent and FMCG 0.52 per cent.

Hindalco, Sun Pharma, M&M, ONGC and Tata Steel were the major Sensex gainers, while the major losers were Dr Reddy's, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, GAIL and ITC.

European stocks

European stocks advanced, rebounding from a four-week low, as investors awaited data on US gross domestic product to gauge the outlook for interest rates in the world’s largest economy.

The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.3 per cent to 342.29 at 11,44 a.m. in London, after earlier falling as much as 0.5 per cent. The equity benchmark is heading for a 1.8 per cent weekly drop, as investors assess the health of the euro area economy and central bank stimulus policies.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 per cent, after equities slid yesterday, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.9 per cent.

US stocks suffered sharp losses on Thursday, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day drop since July as Apple shares tumbled and the dollar rose to a four-year high. Major US stock indexes fell 1.5 to 1.9 per cent.

The dollar held near a four-year high against a basket of major currencies, and further gains looked likely for the US currency as it boasted its the biggest yield advantage over the euro in 15 years.

A rise in the US currency also tends to make metals costlier for the holders of other currencies and lowers the demand for raw materials, which in turn could hit miners.

Published on September 26, 2014 03:48