Sensex, Nifty edge higher in narrow-range trading

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 226 points, while Nifty settled above the 23,800 mark on Friday following gains in auto and banking shares even as investors turned cautious due to FII outflows and a record fall in the rupee.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 226.59 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 78,699.07. During the day, it jumped 570.67 points or 0.72 per cent to 79,043.15. The NSE Nifty went up by 63.20 points or 0.27 per cent to 23,813.40.

From the 30 blue-chip pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle and ICICI Bank were the biggest gainers. State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and HCL Tech were among the laggards. Investors were cautious as "foreign investors have not softened their stance on Indian equities with rupee's record fall against the dollar continuing to create uncertainty amongst the investors", Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

A lack of major triggers and caution ahead of the swearing of US Republican Party administration continued to impact the sentiment, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said. "While the rupee dropped to a new low, weighed down by the expectation of fewer Fed rate cuts, a widening trade deficit, and weak economic growth. The auto index outperformed, aided by an expectation of a pickup in volumes in December and comfort in valuation,"

Nair said. The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.28 per cent while midcap index dipped 0.08 per cent. Among sectoral indices, auto jumped 0.86 per cent, healthcare surged 0.79 per cent, consumer discretionary (0.33 per cent), IT (0.22 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.20 per cent), teck (0.14 per cent) and financial services (0.14 per cent).