Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 100 points Friday ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data

Mumbai, Apr 12: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 100 points Friday ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data and quarterly results of IT bellwethers TCS and Infosys. The 30-share index was trading 106.69 points or 0.28 per cent higher at 38,713.70. The gauge had ended 21.66 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 38,607.01 in its previous session. The NSE Nifty was trading 21.75 points, or 0.19 per cent, up at 11,618.45 in early session.

Shares of Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were trading up to 0.81 per cent higher ahead of their quarterly earnings, scheduled for release later in the day. Other gainers in the Sensex pack include Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Sun Pharma, RIL, HCL Tech and Maruti, rising up to 1.04 per cent. While Tata Motors, L&T, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, SBI, Coal India and ITC shed up to 0.50 per cent.

Tata Consultancy Services

According to Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, investors are awaiting the data on macroeconomic parameters such as consumer price inflation (CPI) and index of industrial production (IIP) to gauge the state of the economy before taking any strong stance. "Markets are expected to remain volatile in the near term till investors get more clarity from the ongoing elections and high frequency data points," he said.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equity worth Rs 476.51 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 16.58 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. The rupee depreciated 29 paise to 69.22 against the US dollar in early trade. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was 0.27 per cent higher at USD 71.02 per barrel. Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul reflected a mixed trend in early trade. Indices on Wall Street ended marginally lower on Thursday.