New Delhi, 20 February (H.S.): Indian equity markets closed in positive territory on Friday, the final trading day of the week, buoyed by reports of India's involvement in Pax Silica. The BSE Sensex, comprising 30 shares, surged 316.57 points or 0.38 percent to settle at 82,814.71. During the session, it peaked at 83,132.08 after climbing 633.94 points at one stage.
The NSE Nifty 50 advanced 116.90 points or 0.46 percent, ending at 25,571.25, with 36 constituents in green and 14 in red. It touched an intraday high of 25,663.55, up 209.20 points or 0.82 percent.
Key Sensex gainers included NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, and IndiGo. Tech Mahindra, Infosys, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo), HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Adani Ports registered losses.
Asian markets were mixed: Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.10 percent, Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.07 percent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 2.31 percent; Chinese markets remained closed for Lunar New Year holidays. European indices—Germany's DAX, Paris CAC 40, and London FTSE 100—traded around 1 percent higher.
The Indian rupee weakened 34 paise against the US dollar, closing provisionally at 91.02. Brent crude futures declined 0.31 percent to $71.44 per barrel.On Thursday, the Sensex had snapped a three-session rally, plummeting 1,236.11 points or 1.48 percent to 82,498.14, while the Nifty shed 365 points or 1.41 percent to 25,454.35.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
