Closing Bell:Indian market ends July on a high note; Nifty settles above 17100

Domestic equity bourses Sensex and Nifty50 closed the last trading session of the month with sharp gains, led by the metal sector amid solidity across global markets after a dovish remark from the Fed Chair. 

Indian equity market extended its gains for the third straight session on Friday, led by strong gains in metal and technology shares. Headline indices also got a boost from index heavyweight Reliance Industries, along with other energy and consumer stocks. 

Market participants are now aware of the possible slowdown in the pace of rate hikes, however, concerns persisted about US recession after data revealed its economy shrinking for a second straight quarter. The US Fed raised rates by 75 basis points (bps), but its chair Jerome Powell hinted at the size of the next rate hike and said that at some point, it would be suitable to slow down. Owing to these developments, Indian indices ended higher on the last trading session of the week with the Nifty going above 17,100. 

At the closing bell on July 29, the Sensex was up 712.46 points or 1.25% at 57,570.25, and the Nifty was up 228.70 points or 1.35% at 17,158.30. On the market breadth, 2037 shares have advanced, 1197 shares declined, and 140 shares are unchanged. 

Top Nifty gainers of the day were SBI Life Insurance, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, HDFC Life and Hindalco Industries, while top losers included Dr Reddy’s Labs, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Divis Labs and Axis Bank. 

Among the sectors, the metal index rose more than 4%, while Pharma, Auto, IT, Power and Oil and Gas indices climbed 1-2% each. However, the PSU Bank index lost 1%. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 1% and smallcap index gained 1.38%. In the currency market, the Indian rupee ended 49 paise higher at 79.26 per dollar against the prior close of 79.75.