Sensex, Nifty Gain For Second Day; Hindalco, ITC, ICICI Bank Lead Gains: Market Wrap

India's benchmark indices closed higher for the second consecutive session after they broke their seven-day gaining streak on Thursday.

Intraday, the Nifty 50 reclaimed the 21,000 level and the Sensex crossed the 70,000 mark for the first time.

Both indices closed at record high levels. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 102.93 points, or 0.15% higher at 69,928.53, while the NSE Nifty 50 was up 27.70 points, or 0.13% at 20,997.10.

"Favourable corporate earnings ycles, a  stable policy environment and potential FPI flows could support markets in the medium term," said George Thomas, fund manager of equity at Quantum Mutual Fund.

"Investors should exercise caution in select pockets where stock performance has exceeded earnings growth by a wide margin. Given the favourable environment, investors should stay invested in equities in line with their long-term asset allocation plan. A disciplined value fund would be an ideal choice at this point due to its favourable valuation relative to the broader markets and potentially ‘higher for longer’ global interest rate scenario," he said.

Hindalco Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., and UltraTech Cement Ltd. were positively contributing to changes in the Nifty.

While Axis Bank Ltd., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change.

Most sectoral indices gained. Nifty Pharma closed 0.9% lower, Nifty Oil & Gas ended lower by 0.2%, and Nifty Financial Services closed flat.

Nifty Metal, Nifty Media, and Nifty PSU Bank rose more than 1%.

The broader market indices fell; the BSE Midcap was 0.91% lower and the BSE SmallCap declined 0.71%.

Eighteen of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced. BSE Healthcare and BSE Oil & Gas were the only sectoral indices that fell.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. As many as 2,392 stocks declined, 1,467 advanced and 176 remained unchanged.