Market end marginally higher ahead of exit polls

The domestic share market indices remained lackluster in trade on Friday,as investors chose to exercise caution ahead of election results, due next week. At close, the Sensex was up 75.71 points or 0.10 percent at 73,961.31, and the Nifty was up 42.05 points or 0.19 percent at 22,530.70. Highlights of trade:
●Apollo Hospitals rise 3% as Q4 PAT soars 77%,
●Zomato falls 5% as Macquarie maintains 'Underperform',
●Antique initiates coverage on PTC Industries, sees up to 67% upside,
●M&M shares surge 3% as BofA upgrades it to Buy
For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 shed nearly 2 percent each.
Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Shriram Finance, Coal India and Tata Steel were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Divis Labs, Nestle India, LTIMindtree, Maruti Suzuki and TCS.
On the sectoral front, metal, power, telecom, realty up 1-2 percent, while media, FMCG healthcare and Information Technology indices down 0.3-1 percent.The BSE midcap index ended flat while the smallcap index gained 0.8 percent.
Rupee Close:
On 31 May'24,the Indian rupee appreciated 5 paise to 83.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday,boosted by robust sentiment in domestic equity markets and a downward trend in the crude oil prices overseas.
Forex traders said, however, strong American currency and unabated outflow of foreign capital weighed on the local unit.
Trading Guide:
Analysts observe that clear mandate in the election results 2024, due early next week would reinforce confidence in India's economic resilience and ensure policy continuity, which could potentially trigger positive FII flows.
Market experts have recommended buying these five buy or sell stocks — Dixon Technologies, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, PNB Housing Finance, BEL, and Escorts.

(Writer is a Finance Research Analyst, based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat)