Sensex, Nifty snap three-day losing streak led by ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel

Sensex snaps losing streak: The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their three-day losing streak on Friday led by gains in ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Axis Bank. The Sensex and Nifty rose on Friday on account of short covering rally, analysts said. The Sensex rose as much as 709 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 21,670.60.

The Sensex ended 496 points higher at 71,683 and Nifty 50 index climbed 160 points to settle at 21,622.

"Firm global cues triggered a gap-up start in Nifty, followed by range bound movement till the end.  Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept traders occupied wherein FMCG, metal and  energy edged higher while banking continued to reel under pressure," said Ajit Mishra, SVP, technical research at Religare Broking.

"Nifty has reclaimed its short-term moving average but lacks decisiveness. We reiterate our cautious view citing the prevailing underperformance of the banking and eyeing the 21,700-21,850 zone to act as a hurdle," Mishra added.

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Twelve of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Oil & Gas index's 1.66 per cent gain. Nifty Metal, Auto, FMCG, IT, PSU Bank and Realty indices also rose around 1 per cent.

On the other hand, media and select private bank shares faced selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1.52 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 1.09 per cent.

ONGC was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 3.55 per cent to close at Rs 241.85. Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, SBI Life, Britannia, Coal India, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan also rose between 2.2-3.3 per cent.

On the flipside, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Divi's Labs were among the notable losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,468 shares ended higher while 1,337 closed lower on the BSE.