Foreign institutional investors extended their buying streak for the third session and added equities worth 33.04 billion rupees ($202.34 million) on Friday. "Expect this momentum (in domestic equities) to continue and Nifty to head towards 18,200 levels," said Siddhartha Khemkha, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Wall Street equities closed slightly lower overnight after data showed U.S. construction spending rose more than expected in March, indicating strength in economic spending. This set the stage for a rate hike on Wednesday. Asian equities are subdued. Among individual stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd surged 5% after reporting a year-on-year rise in consolidated profit in the March quarter. Rossari Biotech jumped 7% and Satin Creditcare Ltd surged 20%, also on the back of robust March quarter results.
On the flip side, Atul Auto Ltd lost nearly 10%
after posting a 55.1% fall in total sales.
($1 = 81.6950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by
Janane Venkatraman)