Modest Buying Support Halts 3-Day Losing Run

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Wednesday, snapping their three-day falling streak on the back of buying in blue-chips HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank and a firm trend in Asian peers. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 410.19 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 81,596.63 with 24 of its constituents ending higher and six ending lower. During the day, it surged 835.2 points or 1.02 per cent to a high of 82,021.64. The NSE Nifty climbed 129.55 points or 0.52 per cent to 24,813.45.

“Markets exhibited a broadly positive undertone on Wednesday; however, overall sentiment remained confined within a narrow range, indicating risk of ‘sell on rallies’ strategy in the near future amid escalating uncertainty around India - US trade negotiations,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Investments Limited.

The BSE midcap gauge advanced 0.90 per cent and smallcap index by 0.51 per cent. Among sectoral indices, capital goods (1.65 per cent), realty (1.58 per cent), industrials (1.35 per cent), healthcare (0.93 per cent) and teck (0.81 per cent) were the gainers. Consumer durables emerged as the only laggard. As many as 2,292 stocks advanced while 1,685 declined and 138 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finserv rose the most by 2.02 per cent. Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Nestle, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever and Mahindra & Mahindra also advanced. IndusInd Bank fell the most by 1.39 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and ITC were among the laggards. Moody’s Ratings said on Wednesday said India is well-positioned to deal with the negative effects of US tariffs and global trade disruptions as domestic growth drivers and low dependence on exports anchor the economy. In a note on India, the agency said government initiatives to boost private consumption, expand manufacturing capacity and increase infrastructure spending will help offset the weakening outlook for global demand.

Among Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng in settled in the positive territory while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended lower. Markets in Europe were trading in the negative territory. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.19 per cent to $66.16 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs10,016.10 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Sensex tanked 872.98 points or 1.06 per cent to settle at 81,186.44 points, while Nifty tumbled 261.55 points or 1.05 per cent to 24,683.90.