(RTTNews) - After consolidating a little bit in the previous session, the Indian market rebounded sharply on Friday, with positive global cues and expectations that the RBI may pause in its monetary-policy tightening cycle underpinning sentiment.
Broad-based buying powered by foreign fund inflows lifted the 30-share Sensex up by about 180 points or 0.91%, to 19,595, while the broader Nifty rose by 56 points or 0.97% to 5,885.
The market breadth remained extremely positive in contrast to a negative breadth in recent sessions. On the BSE, 1798 shares rose and 1151 shares declined, while 154 others closed unchanged.
Consumer durable stocks like Videocon Industries, Whirlpool, Titan Industries and Gitanjali Gems rose by 2%-7% after the government on Thursday approved a 10% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central government employees.
Cement stocks such as ACC (up 3.24%), Ambuja Cements ( up 4.70%) and India Cements ( up 4.97%) rallied, boosted by reports about price hike in the range of Rs.25-30 per 50-kg bag.
In the metals pack, Hindustan Zinc, Sesa Goa, National Aluminum, Hindalco, Tata Steel, NMDC, Sterlite and JSW Steel gained between 1% and 5%, tracking higher Shanghai copper futures, after China's central bank said it would continue its easy monetary policy stance.
IT stocks bounced back after remaining under selling pressure in the previous session. Bellwether Infosys edged up 0.21% and TCS gained 1.92%, while Wipro ended down with a modest 0.7% loss.
Aviation stocks rose after data showed domestic air passenger traffic grew over 19% between January and August this year from a year earlier. Kingfisher rose 0.77% and Jet Airways added 0.59%.
Sugar stocks rallied amid reports that Pakistan may face a shortage of 1.2 million metric tons of sugar next year, after the worst-ever floods in Pakistan damaged part of its cane crop. Balrampur Chini advanced nearly 3%, Dhampur added 2.86%, Shree Renuka climbed 5.48% and Dwarakesh jumped 5.14%.
Likewise, tea stocks like Assam Company and Jayshree Tea rose over 2% each on reports of price hike.
Steel maker Ispat Industries soared 17%, a day after it entered into a strategic co-operation agreement with U..K-based trading company Stemcor. Elder Pharmaceuticals climbed over 5% after it proposed to buy U.K.-based NeutraHealth for about Rs.71 crore. Ashok Leyland rose 1.88% after it bagged an order to supply 2,850 buses to the Tamil Nadu government.
Elsewhere, most Asian stocks gained on Friday, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific index higher for a third week, as a weaker yen boosted the outlook for Japan's exporters and technology firms Research In Motionand Oracle Corp posted strong earnings.
