Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 close higher for second straight session; IT stocks shine

 Key equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty 50 ended with gains for the second consecutive session on Friday, January 5, on gains led by IT heavyweights, including TCS and Infosys, even as weak global cues and the dollar's sharp gain against its major peers capped the rise of the domestic market.

According to a sources, the dollar was poised for its strongest weekly advance since mid-May as expectations for aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve cooled off.

Considering the latest US labour market data, chatter around the rate cuts is losing steam.

Most positives are already discounted in the market, so the focus now shifts to the December quarter earnings. IT majors Infosys and TCS, both will announce their Q3 earnings next week on January 11.

On Friday, Sensex opened at 72,016.71 against the previous close of 71,847.57 and touched its intraday high and low of 72,156.48 and 71,779.83 respectively. The index finally closed the day 179 points, or 0.25 per cent, higher at 72,026.15.

The Nifty 50 opened at 21,705.75 against the previous close of 21,658.60 and touched its intraday high and low of 21,749.60 and 21,629.20 respectively. The index settled at 21,710.80, up 52 points, or 0.24 per cent.