Stock markets: Driven by continuous foreign fund inflows and buying in Reliance Industries, benchmark equity indices extended their rally for the third day running on Wednesday. The rally in the US markets on Tuesday also helped equity indices maintain their winning run.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 193.8 points to 65,811.64 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 68.3 points to 19,507.70. From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, ITC and State Bank of India were among the major gainers. IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Infosys and Asian Paints were the major laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying momentum as they bought equities worth Rs 1,197.38 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
How did Asian markets fare?
In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading in the green while Tokyo and Shanghai quoted lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday. "Markets may log steady gains in early trade on Wednesday thanks to a sharp upsurge in the overnight US markets. With Asian indices, too, witnessing strong gains, local indices could advance further, even as concerns of the market being in an overbought position looms.
"Investors will focus on inflation numbers set to be announced later in the day, while IT majors TCS and HCL Tech would set the tone with their Q1 results, which could give some indication of the global IT sourcing scenario and the outlook on the same," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 79.54 a barrel. The BSE benchmark had advanced 273.67 points or 0.42 per cent to settle at 65,617.84 on Tuesday. The Nifty climbed 83.50 points or 0.43 per cent to end at 19,439.40.
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Rupee rises against dollar
Meanwhile, the rupee gained 16 paise to 82.25 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as weakness of the American currency in the overseas market and steady foreign fund inflows supported investors' sentiment. However, a surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains for the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.29, then touched a high of 82.25 against the American currency, registering a rise of 16 paise over its last close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 82.41 against the dollar.
Softness in the US dollar and sustained FII inflows supported the rupee, forex traders said adding that the strength in crude oil prices remains a concern for the rupee, as a sharp surge in prices could limit its gains. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.30 per cent to 101.42.
(With PTI inputs)
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