Sensex closes 226.79 points higher, Nifty ends above 12,200; Yes Bank, Tech Mahindra, Britannia Industries gain

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices ended on a higher note for the second consecutive day on Friday (January 24) with the Sensex closing 226.79 points higher or 0.55% at 41613.19, while the broader Nifty settled up 67.90 points or 0.56% at 12248.30. 

Major gainers on the Nifty were Yes Bank, Tech Mahindra, Britannia Industries, UltraTech Cement and Axis Bank while Power Grid, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Motors were among top losers.

In the morning today, market benchmark Sensex dropped over 70 points as investors chose to stay cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid weak global cues. The 30-share BSE index was trading 71.95 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 41,314.45. Similarly, the broader NSE was trading 17.85 points, or 0.15 per cent, down at 12,162.50.

Top losers in the Sensex pack included PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, Infosys, TCS, Tata Steel, and Bharti Airtel, while Asian Paints, Titan, Bajaj Auto, RIL, Sun Pharma, L&T and ICICI Bank were trading on a positive note.

Meanwhile, European shares today shrugged off worries over the coronavirus outbreak after the World Health Organisation designated it an emergency for China but not yet for the rest of the world. 

The broad Euro STOXX 600 gained 1.1% in early trading, with indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, and London all advancing similar amounts. Shares in Bayer gained 2.5%, driven by a report on a possible out-of-court settlement at a US jury trial over allegations that its weed-killer Roundup causes cancer.
Wall Street futures pointed to slim gains.

The sunny start supported MSCI`s world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries. The index gained 0.2%, with resilience among markets in Asia also helping. There, MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.12% amid slow trade for the Chinese holiday. Financial markets in mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea were closed on Friday.

As investors made bets on riskier assets, safe havens such as the Japanese yen and gold stepped back.
The yen fell a touch to 109.57 yen against the dollar, off two-week highs of 109.26 touched on Thursday. Gold fell 0.3%.

(With Agency Inputs)