Value buying, FII inflows lift equities; energy stocks rise

Mumbai, March 19 Value buying as well as fresh influx of foreign funds led India's benchmark equity indices to break a five day losing streak on Friday.

Key indices pared their initial losses to close in the green.

On the global front, Asian markets tumbled as investors appeared to be shaken by several issues, from the continued prospect of rising inflation to a volatile US-China meeting and persistent coronavirus flare-ups in Europe.

Similarly, European markets pulled back after a spike in bond yields and inflation concerns reignited concerns about stock valuations and prompted a sell-off on Wall Street.

In India, all sectoral indices ended in the green led by energy, FMCG, and metals.

The 30-scrip S&P BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) closed at 49,858.24, up by 641.72 points, or 1.30 per cent, from its previous close.

The broader 50-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed in the green too, at 14,744, up by 186.15 points, or 1.28 per cent from its previous close.

"Nifty has showed remarkable bounce from the intra day lows on March 19. One will have to watch as to whether this uppishness continues early next week even after the FTSE rebalancing is done with," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

"US Bond yield moves will be one of the important factors to track. 14,919 remains a strong resistance for the Nifty while 14,529 could be a support."

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: "The highly volatile domestic markets witnessed a smart recovery from its morning weakness and was swinging between gains and losses during the day owing to strong buying seen in FMCG, pharma and energy stocks."

"However, auto stocks were under pressure after the announcement of the government's new scrapping policy. Unsettling pace of US bond yields and a surge in Covid cases worldwide, resulted in the global markets trading deep in red."

( With inputs from IANS )