Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher after a volatile session on Friday amid positive cues from global markets.<\/p>\n
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 28.35 points or 0.06 % higher at 48,832.03.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 36.40 points or 0.25 % to 14,617.85.<\/p>\n
Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 %, followed by UltraTech Cement, ONGC, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech and Nestle India.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, L&T, TCS, Infosys and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.<\/p>\n
A continued surge in second wave of COVID-19 cases in the country, which already crossed 2 lakh daily cases, has certainly posed a risk to sustainability of rebound of earnings momentum, said Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.<\/p>\n
While the government\u2019s strong effort to expedite vaccination progress and absence of complete lockdown in Maharashtra and Delhi offered some comfort to equities, the risk of other states taking steps of wider economic restrictions continues to persist, which may continue to weigh on investors\u2019 sentiments in the near term, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike last year, states seem to be reluctant this time for complete lockdown due to wider ramification on economic activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, current level of mobility restrictions imposed at different states and government\u2019s focus to improve supply of vaccine in the country should be helpful to contain outbreak in coming weeks and essentially should not lead to large economic damage,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a positive note.<\/p>\n
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with gains in mid-session deals.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.40 % higher at USD 67.21 per barrel.<\/p>\n