SBI numbers boosted the equity markets, driving up Nifty from its intra-day low

Indian markets ended the with mix sentiments on Friday, May 19, 2017, as the Benchmark indices NSE Nifty closed at 9427, lower by 1 point or 0.02 per cent, whereas the BSE Sensex closed at 30,464, up by 30 points or 0.10 per cent.
 
Most of the indexes closed in red, except Nifty Bank, Nifty FMCG, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pvt Bank. Nifty FMCG up by 2.05 gained the most among the index, while India VIX dropped the most, down by 4.09. BSE Mid-cap Index closed at 14644, down by 0.7% whereas, BSE Small-cap index closed down by 0.8% at 15227. Asian Paints lost the most on Nifty, while ITC was today’s top nifty gainer.  
 
There were 572 advances, 1084 declines and 300 unchanged stocks on NSE, reflecting a reasonably bearish undertone in the market.
 
The demand for the FMCG stocks increased sharply intraday on Friday, as an impact of the recently released GST rates, with Colgate Palmolive (India) emerging as the top gainer in the Nifty FMCG index.
  
State Bank of India further boosted the equity markets with the announcement of its Q4 results. The PAT of the PSU banking major stood at Rs 2814 crore, the PSB also reported a reduction in its gross NPA from 7.23 per cent to 6.9 per cent on a quarterly basis. The stock hit its 2-year high of Rs 315.30 per share on the NSE, driving the Nifty50 substantially.
 
Asian markets traded flat on Friday. Shanghai was up by 0.49 points, Hang Seng was also up by 38.35 points. Nikkei got boosted by 0.19 per cent. European markets were trading with positive sentiments, although mostly flat at the time of filing this copy at 1700 hrs IST.