Benchmark Sensex closed higher by 123 points while Nifty rose for a sixth consecutive day on Wednesday following a rally in global markets amid optimism over US-China trade talks and foreign fund inflows.
In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 123.42 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 82,515.14. During the day, it climbed 391.79 points or 0.47 per cent to 82,783.50 , driven by gains in IT and energy shares.
In its sixth straight day of gains, the 50-share NSE Nifty ended 37.15 points or 0.15 per cent up at 25,141.40. The index moved between a low of 25,081.30 and a high of 25,222.40 during the day. In the six sessions to Wednesday, Nifty gained 598 points or 2.42 per cent.
After a flat start, the Nifty gradually moved higher in the first half and tested the resistance at 25,200, but failed to sustain the momentum at close, Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Eternal were the lead gainers.
Power Grid, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Nestle, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
"Profit-booking continues in the broader markets, driven by elevated domestic valuations. However, large-cap resilience is supporting the indices, with institutional investors favouring companies with stable earnings outlooks.
"Auto and IT sectors remain in focus - auto stocks are gaining on improved monthly sales, while IT shares are benefiting from optimism around a potential US-China trade resolution," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge went up by 0.06 per cent while midcap index dipped 0.12 per cent.
"Benchmarks ended with marginal gains on Wednesday extending their consolidation phase. Positive developments in US-China trade talks and a steady global equity environment helped buoy sentiment, though gains were tempered by profit-booking in certain sectors," Satish Chandra Aluri, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
Among sectoral indices, oil & gas surged the most by 1.83 per cent, followed by energy (1.33 per cent), BSE Focused IT (1.30 per cent), IT (1.25 per cent), teck (1.01 per cent), healthcare (0.74 per cent) and auto (0.19 per cent).
Financial Services, FMCG, industrials, power, utilities, services, capital goods and bankex were among the laggards.
As many as 2,227 stocks advanced while 1,821 declined and 132 remained unchanged on the BSE.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in the positive territory. European equity markets were trading higher. US markets closed higher on Tuesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,301.87 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.43 per cent to USD 67.16 a barrel.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
