The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex rose 456 points to close at 26,316.34 and the National Stock Exchange Nifty rose by 148 points at 8,114.3 on Friday. Information technology stocks rallied because of the fall in the rupee, which hit record lows on Thursday.
Companies such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services rose by 5.19% and 4.65%, with Wipro and HCL seeing strong gains as well. The shares of pharmaceutical companies also performed well, with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Aurobindo Pharma Limited rising by 3.41% and 4.64%. The gains by these export-driven companies came on the back of a rising United States dollar, which did not trade on Thursday because of the country’s Thanksgiving holiday.
A marginal rise in Asian markets also contributed to positive investor sentiments in India. While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4%, AP reported. The rupee also gained slightly, trading at 68.43 against the dollar. However, analysts said the gain by the Indian currency markets was likely to be short-term as the dollar would resume trading on Friday.
On Thursday, the Sensex closed 191.64 points lower at 25,680.17 and the Nifty fell by 67.80 points to close at 7,965.50 as markets reacted sharply to the falling rupee and the impact of the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Foreign investors sold equity shares worth Rs 2,010 crore, Business Standard reported.
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