Indices extend their winning run for sixth straight session
indices extended their winning run for the sixth straight day on Friday, bucking the weakness in other Asian markets, as gains in private lenders and power companies helped the market maintain the bullish momentum. The Sensex and Nifty closed at the highest level since July 20 and posted their biggest weekly gains in six weeks.
The Sensex rose 333.35 points, or 0.50%, to close at 66,598.91.
The Nifty gained 92.90 points, or 0.47%, to end at 19,819.95. Both indices, which have gained 1.3% last week and 2.2% in the past six trading sessions, are less than a per cent away from their all-time highs hit on July 20.
"Large cap stocks are witnessing momentum and Nifty is less than 1% away from its life highs," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research, broking and distribution at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
«The new highs would bring in more investors into the market and continue the trend.»
Among lenders, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and SBI led the gainers. NTPC and Power Grid Corporation led the upsides in power stocks.
Analysts expect the Nifty to touch 20,000 next week if the bullish mood sustains.
«Technically, Nifty eyes the 20,000 milestone now, and with the ongoing momentum, it would be barely a task for the bulls to attain the mark,» Osho Krishan, senio analyst, technical & derivative research, Angel One.
«Keeping the view on consecutive rallies, one should not become complacent and patiently wait for dips to initiate fresh longs in the system.»
Shares of smaller companies also continued their upmove with the Nifty Midcap 150 index gaining 0.9% and Nifty Smallcap 250 rising 0.6% on Friday. For the week, Nifty Midcap 150 jumped 3.5% and Nifty Smallcap 250 advanced 2.9% in the past week.
