The market closed on a positive note for the third consecutive session with the rally being led by metal stocks. After opening on a positive note due to bullish global signals, markets sustained the gains.

The BSE Sensex closed at 49,206.47, up 256.71 points or 0.52 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 49,417.64 and a low of 49,036.38. The Nifty 50, after hitting an intra-day high of 14,863.05 in the second half, closed at 14,823.15, up 98.35 points or 0.67 per cent. It hit an intra-day low of 14,765.50.

The breadth of the market was positive with 1,698 stocks advancing, 1,312 declining and 169 remaining unchanged on the BSE. As many as 349 securities hit the upper circuit and 186 hit the lower circuit; 274 hit their 52-week high, while 38 touched a 52-week low.

Binod Modi, Head, Strategy, at Reliance Securities said, “Domestic equities extended gains for the third consecutive day, mainly on favourable global cues and continued traction in financials (ex- PSU Banks) and metals.”

“Notably, Nifty shrugged off rising Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive week by recording a weekly gain of over 1 per cent and adding over Rs 4 lakh crore to investors’ wealth,” Modi added.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Adani Ports and SBI Life were among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while Tata Consumer, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors and UPL were among the laggards.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel at record high

Tata Steel continued to rally through the day and hit a fresh 52-week high on the back of its strong Q4 results. It hit a 52-week high of ₹1,192.00 on the NSE.

The company has reported a consolidated net profit of ₹7,162 crore for the quarter ended March against net loss of ₹1,615 crore logged in the same period last year. The company has announced dividend of ₹25 a share. A dividend of ₹6.25 will be paid on partly paid-up shares.

JSW Steel also hit fresh highs on Friday. It recorded a new 52-week high of ₹766.70 on the NSE. The company has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a feasibility study with JFE Steel Corporation, a strategic alliance partner, to establish a grain oriented electrical steel sheet manufacturing and sales joint venture company in India. The plan is to complete the study in the current 2021 fiscal year and take appropriate steps to set up this JV company subject to requisite approvals, it said in a regulatory filing.

PSU banks decline

On the sectoral front, all indices except the Nifty PSU Bank closed in the green. The banking index was down 0.14 per cent at closing.

Metals and financials led the rally in the second half. Nifty Realty also recovered from the previous session’s losses. The Nifty Metal index was up 4.73 per cent. Nifty Financial Services was up 0.74 per cent, while the Nifty Realty index gained 0.75 per cent.

“Baring PSU Banks, most key sectoral indices traded in the green today. Metals stocks remained in focus, led by a robust 4QFY21 performance delivered by select metal companies and improved visibility of sustainable earnings momentum in the coming quarters. The volatility index softened by over 5 per cent today and now ranges below 21 levels,” said Modi.

Midcaps underperform

As for the broader indices, mid-cap stocks underperformed even as small-cap stocks were able to retain gains. The Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.18 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.35. The S&P BSE Midcap index was down 0.04 per cent, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.15 per cent.

The volatility index softened 5.50 per cent to 20.82.

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