Indian shares log best weekly winning streak since 2010
Updates to close
By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU, July 26 (Reuters) - Information technology stocks lifted Indian benchmark indexes on Friday as an improvement in economic growth in the U.S., a key market for the sector, boosted sentiment.
Both the benchmarks added 1.24% and 0.9% for the week, posting eighth week of gains.
The NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 1.76% to 24,834.85, while the S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN gained 1.62% to 81,332.72, logging their best session in seven weeks.
The Nifty also hit a record high in the final minute of the trading session.
Both Nifty and Sensex had logged losses for the last five sessions, weighed down by weaker-than-expected results from Reliance Industries RELI.NS, Wipro WIPR.NS, Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS, Axis Bank AXBK.NS and Nestle NEST.NS.
The union budget on Tuesday, in which tax hikes on capital gains in equity investments and derivatives trading were announced, also had a negative, but short-term impact on the market, analysts said.
Allthe 13 major sectors advanced, on the day.
Information technology stocks .NIFTYIT rose 2.3%, afterdata showed that the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter.
Improving growth outlook in the U.S. helps Indian IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the country.
Investors await the U.S. personal consumption expenditures data - the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation - due after the closing bell, to confirm bets of a rate cut in September.
"Most IT companies have indicated green shoots in discretionary spends and large verticals like banking and financial services, which is also aiding investor interest in the sector," said Meeta Shetty, fund manager at Tata Asset Management.
Metal index .NIFTYMET gained 3%. It had shed 1.3% in the previous session on demand concerns in top consumer China.
Drug maker Cipla CIPL.NS gained 5%, powering pharma index .NIPHARM 2.3% higher, afterposting first-quarter profit above expectations, aided by higher sales.
The broader, more domestically focussed small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 rose 1% and 1.8%, on the day.
($1 = 83.7330 Indian rupees)
Weekly performance of India's key stock indexes https://reut.rs/4djlMaW
Weekly performance of India's Nifty 50 stocks https://reut.rs/3zVevjj
India's Nifty 50 logs longest weekly winning streak in over 14 years https://reut.rs/3WCoaUP
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Nivedita Bhattacharjee
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