Mkts bounce back on value buying in metal, fin stocks

Benchmark Sensex rose by 320 points while Nifty closed above the 19,600 mark on Friday after value-buying in metal, financial and energy stocks aided by positive trends in the US and European markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 320.09 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 65,828.41. During the day, it jumped 643.33 points or 0.98 per cent to 66,151.65. The Nifty advanced 114.75 points or 0.59 per cent to end at 19,638.30.

Among the Sensex firms, NTPC climbed over 3 per cent emerging as the biggest gainer. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Reliance, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the other major gainers. Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Titan were among the laggard.

"Markets made a recovery attempt after Thursday's fall and managed to close half a per cent higher. The tone was positive for most of the session however dip in the final hour trimmed the gains," Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said that while stocks witnessed a rebound on Friday, the market is facing stiff resistance at higher levels due to insipid liquidity and a lack of triggers to overcome the bears.