Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks reversed early losses to end in the green, marking their sixth consecutive gains, helped by late buying mainly in pharma, metal and capital goods as firming rupee and sliding crude lifted investors’ sentiment.
The BSE benchmark Sensex ended 77 points higher despite losses in information technology and FMCG counters amid weak global cues. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty edged higher by over 20 points to close above the 10,900-level. In a major boost to domestic market, the Indian rupee jumped 93 paise (intra-day) to trade at 70.63 against the US dollar and the benchmark Brent crude dropped to USD 57.98 a barrel, a fall 2.73 per cent, easing India’s concerns on the current account deficit front.
“Market reversed from day’s low despite weak global market as oil prices slid further and a drop in bond yield raised investors’ confidence. Global market traded on a negative note due to concerns of slowdown in world economy growth. Strong rupee and fall in yield is easing the liquidity concerns of the market,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, said.
The BSE Sensex swung almost 329 points both sides on hectic selling and buying during the session.
The 30-share index started lower at 36,226.38 and continued to slide as selling pressure gathered momentum and hit a low of 36,046.52 in line with a weak trend in Asian markets and lower opening of European shares. (PTI)
However, hectic buying in late afternoon trade reversed the day’s losses and helped the Sensex scale 36,375.38 before settling 77.01 points, or 0.21 per cent, higher at 36,347.08. The gauge had risen over 1,310 points in the last five sessions.
The 50-share NSE Nifty too rose by 20.35 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end at 10,908.70. Intra-day, it traded between 10,819.10 and 10,915.40.
Sun Pharma emerged as the best performer in the Sensex pack, surging 2.98 per cent, followed by PowerGrid at 1.74 per cent. Other gainers were M&M 1.62 per cent, Vedanta 1.58 per cent, Asian Paints 1.47 per cent, L&T 1.42 per cent, SBI 1.35 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.22 per cent, NTPC 1.20 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.08 per cent, Bharti Airtel 0.91 per cent, Tata Steel 0.76 per cent and Maruti Suzuki 0.64 per cent. (PTI)
RIL, Hero Motocorp, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Coal India, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Auto also showed strength and gained up to 0.62 per cent. On the other hand, shares of software exporters such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS lost up to 2.48 per cent due to stronger rupee. (PTI)
