Indian equities buoyed by global cues, surge in RIL, Wipro stocks

Mumbai, July 21 (IANS) Positive global cues and healthy quarterly results from index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Wipro trimmed previous session's losses and buoyed Indian equity markets to trade on a flat-to-positive note during the mid-afternoon session on Friday.

According to market observers, ample liquidity from foreign funds and increased buying by retailers following RIL's robust numbers provided a perfect platform.

Besides, investors' sentiments were uplifted by persistant inflow of foreign funds and healthy buying in IT and consumer durables stocks.

At 12.30 p.m., the wider Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was up 13.50 points, or 0.14 per cent, to trade at 9,886.80 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 32,035.88 points, traded at 31,948.12 points -- up 43.72 points, or 0.14 per cent, from the previous close at 31,904.40 points.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 32,062.23 points and a low of 31,931.34 points during intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was bullish with 1,274 advances and 1,156 declines.

"Benchmark indices opened in green on stellar June quarter numbers from RIL and a Rs 11,000 crore share buyback announcement by Wipro. Globally, signs of steady global growth, which have prompted the European Central Bank and a couple of other major central banks to signal future tightening since last month, have kept the world's shares on firm footing," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

"The benchmark Sensex rallied over 130 points above the 32,000-mark on Friday as Reliance Industries' (RIL) reported its highest quarterly earnings. The numbers came in after market hours on Thursday. Besides, better-than-estimated results by Wipro gave investors more confidence."

On Thursday, the benchmark indices closed in the red as heavy selling pressure was witnessed in metal, auto, healthcare and IT stocks.

The Nifty fell by 26.30 points, or 0.27 per cent to close at 9,873.30 points, while the Sensex closed at 31,904.40 points -- down 50.95 points, or 0.16 per cent.