Equity benchmark indices closed higher on Wednesday, helped by fag-end buying in index majors Reliance Industries, ITC and M&M amid a positive start in European markets. Cautious trade prevailed in the markets for the most part of the day ahead of two major events -- the RBI's monetary policy and the US inflation data -- due to be announced on Thursday.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 149.31 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 65,995.81. During the day, it fell by 402.12 points or 0.61 per cent to 65,444.38. The benchmark also touched a high of 66,066.01. The NSE Nifty gained 61.70 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 19,632.55.
"Markets staged a smart recovery in the late trading session after two days of weakness, as strength in European indices and sharp gains in metals, oil & gas and auto stock aided sentiment. Markets were highly volatile as investors shunned local equities after Moody's warned of downgrading six major US banks, while weak Chinese exports data also dampened sentiment," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
Biggest gainers of the day
JSW Steel was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.68 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Titan, ITC, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro.
In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Asian Paints and Axis Bank were major laggards. In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.57 per cent, and the midcap index advanced 0.39 per cent.
Among the indices, metal jumped 2.32 per cent, consumer durables climbed 1.21 per cent, oil & gas (1.16 per cent), energy (1.11 per cent), commodities (0.82 per cent), industrials (0.76 per cent), auto (0.74 per cent) and FMCG (0.61 per cent). On the other hand, Financial Services, bankex and realty were the laggards.
How did Asian and European markets fare?
In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai settled lower, while Seoul and Hong Kong ended in the green. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended in the negative territory in overnight trade on Tuesday. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 711.34 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.79 per cent to USD 86.85 a barrel.
(With PTI inputs)
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