After five consecutive sessions of decline, the bulls took charge, pushing the benchmark indices back into the green. A sharp rally in metal and pharma stocks fueled the recovery, with the Sensex rising by 0.17% to 80,177 and the Nifty climbing 0.24% to 24,464 on Friday.
The market saw 1,939 shares advancing, 525 shares declining, and 127 shares remaining unchanged.
"Post-budget, I believe the markets have entered a corrective phase. This correction is more time-based rather than price-based, meaning the index remains within a range. During this period, we see a lot of stock-specific action on both sides," commented a market analyst. Despite the underperformance of the banking sector, other sectors like oil and gas showed strength.
On Thursday, the Metal index emerged as the best performer, led by Hindalco and Tata Steel, which rebounded after a previous day’s dip. The Pharma and Healthcare indices also posted gains, each rising nearly 1%. Large-cap pharma stocks, which have seen significant consolidation over the past six months, contributed to the rally.
Among the 13 indices, the Bank Nifty was the only laggard, dragged down by ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, and Axis Bank. "In the near term, banks are likely to underperform due to subdued earnings from major lenders like Axis Bank," noted an expert.
Top gainers on the Nifty included Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, LTIMindtree, Coal India, and Shriram Finance. On the losing side were Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consumer Products, Maruti Suzuki, and Axis Bank.
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