Indian stocks extend gains to sixth straight day

NEW DELHI: Indian stock indices extended their gains for the sixth straight session on Friday, led by strength in banking and financial stocks coupled with good second-quarter corporate earnings.

At 9.45 am, Sensex traded at 59,475.40 points, up 272.50 points or 0.46 per cent, whereas Nifty traded at 17,635.75 points, up 71.80 points or 0.41 per cent. Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 32 advanced and the rest 18 slipped this morning, National Stock Exchange data showed.

"IT and banks account for the major chunk of India Inc's profits. After good Q2 results from IT, leading banks are posting very good Q2 numbers indicating that corporate earnings are in line with optimistic expectations. Q2 results of Axis Bank and ITC have beaten expectations. The PSU bank index has the potential to sustain its outperformance," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services in a note.

Meanwhile, the rupee has retreated from its all-time low of over 83 against the US dollar.

During the last-minute trade the previous session, the rupee pared some of its fall, which analysts say also fuelled positive sentiments in stock markets.

"Rupee can show some further price appreciation as capital markets also showed positive momentum. Rupee can be seen in a volatile range of 82.00-83.00," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities in a note.

For the record, the Indian rupee had been weakening over the past few weeks to hit fresh new all-time lows as the US dollar strengthened against major global currencies.

On Wednesday, the rupee breached the 83 mark for the first time in its history. So far this year, the rupee depreciated around 11-12 per cent, data showed.

The rising trade deficit, depleting forex reserves, strong US dollar index, and the ongoing monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve are some of the major reasons that triggered the rupee's consistent depreciation. (ANI)

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