Engineering major L&T and financials were the top contributors to the gains on the Sensex.
Benchmark share indices rebounded in late trades on Friday to end at their highest levels in eight weeks, amid firm global cues, led by engineering major L&T and renewed buying interest in financials.
The 30-share Sensex ended up 204 points at 27,215 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 59 points at 8,238.
On August 21, 2015 the Sensex had ended at 27,366 and the Nifty at 8,299.95.
In the broader market, BSE MidCap index gained 0.4% while SmallCap ended flat with positive bias.
"The decline in exports has not come as a surprise in the backdrop of weak global economic growth. The rebound in latter half of the session was on the back of firm global cues.
Renewed buying was seen in financials and sentiment impact after financials were the top gainers on Wall Street on Thursday," said G Chokkalingam, Founder & MD, Equinomics Research & Advisory.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee was trading lower by 12 paise at Rs 64.94 compared to the US dollar on demand for the US currency from importers after exports declined in September.
EARNINGS CORNER
Among the key results later today, Reliance Industries would be keenly watched. Other companies to announce their Q2 results today include NIIT Tech., R. S. Software, Swaraj Engines, Tata Metaliks and Tata Sponge.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE Capital Goods and Bankex indices were the top gainers along with Auto, Power, Oil and Gas Reliance Industries was up nearly 1% ahead of the Q2 earnings due later today.
Engineering major L&T ended up 2.8% contributing the most to the Sensex gains. In the financial segment, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, AXis Bank and HDFC ended up 1.4-2.4% each.
Auto stocks gained on hopes of higher demand during the festive season with most of them set to launch new models. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp ended up 0.5-1.6% each.
Tata Motors extended gains and ended up 1.4%. The automobile company reported 21% increase in its global sales, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles, at 97,102 units in September. Oil marketing companies such as BPCL, HPCL, IOC ended up 0.4-2% each on Thursday announced a rise of 95 paise in diesel rates, but kept the petrol prices unchanged to align the domestic prices with global product prices.
Now, diesel will cost Rs 45.9, including local taxes, in Delhi. The new rates will be effective from Thursday midnight.
Telecom stocks Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular eased 0.3-1.4% each after regulator TRAI directed telecom operators to pay consumers Re 1 as compensation for every call drop experienced from January 2016 onwards.
Vedanta ended down 0.4%. With uncertainty looming over its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha's Kalahandi district, Vedanta has started laying off workers at its one-million tonne per annum alumina plant.
ITC ended marginally lower after rating firm CLSA cut its outlook to “sell” from “underperform” and kept its target price at Rs.315 per share.
Among other shares, Nestle India ended higher by 5.6% after the company said that the Maggi noodles are safe and 100% of samples tested by three laboratories are clear.
Hinduja Global Solutions ended up over 2% at Rs 470 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced the launch of e-learning program.
Crompton Greaves ended up over 5% after the company said it has presented its new Smart Grid solution centre in Grenoble, a high tech site specialised in smart solutions of HV, MV and LV electricity networks.
