Mumbai: Benchmark indices posted gains for the third straight session Wednesday on sustained buying mainly in finance, energy and metal counters amid positive global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 193.56 points to finish at 36,636.10, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 65.55 points to 11,053.
The market sentiment has turned favourable weeks ahead of the general elections amid easing of tensions between India and Pakistan, analysts said. Mid- and small-cap stocks are witnessing renewed investor interest due to attractive valuations, they added.
In a boost to global market sentiment, the US and China seemed to be nearing an agreement to avoid further escalation of their trade dispute. US President Donald Trump deferred raising tariffs on more Chinese goods, citing the recent progress in talks.
Among the Sensex constituents, 17 stocks rose and 13 fell. The 30-share index has gained over 768 points in the last three sessions. Bajaj Finance led the Sensex chart with a jump of 2.60 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank 2.55 per cent and Reliance Industries Ltd 2.15 per cent.
Other scrips which lifted the BSE gauge were Vedanta, PowerGrid, HDFC, NTPC, ITC, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, M&M, SBI, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Kotak Bank and Infosys, rising up to 2 per cent. Bucking the overall trend, Tata Motors slipped 2.81 per cent, followed by Axis Bank 1.72 per cent, HUL 1.38 per cent, HCL Tech 1.24 per cent and Hero Moto 0.96 per cent.
“Market crossed an important resistance level of 11,000 as investors continued to focus on domestic macros. It was a broad based rally, where mid- and small-caps led from the front due to its attractive valuation.
“We expect the positive bias will continue, while further direction will depend upon upcoming US Fed policy and conclusion of US-China trade agreement,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
The Sensex started on a positive note at 36,544.86 in the morning and touched a high of 36,666.47 and low of 36,456.82 during the session. Intra-day, the index saw a movement of over 209 points. It finally settled the day at 36,636.10, higher by 193.56 points, or 0.53 per cent.
The NSE Nifty opened at 11,024.85 and hit a high of 11,062.30 and low of 10,998.85 during the day. The index swung around 65 points during the trading session. It closed at 11,053, showing a rise of 65.55 points, or 0.60 per cent. Analysts said the market breadth has improved on the back of participants sensing the possibility of the incumbent government retaining power, which provides policy stability.
In the broader market, the small-cap index outperformed the mid-cap and large-cap indices. The BSE SmallCap index gained 0.97 per cent, mid-cap climbed 0.49 per cent and large-cap advanced 0.56 per cent. Overall on the BSE, 1,673 companies advanced, 1,026 declined while 151 ended unchanged.
Except BSE Auto, all the sectoral indices closed in the green. Energy, consumer durables, telecom, power and healthcare were the top gainers, rising up to 1.73 per cent. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was trading at USD 65.50 a barrel, down 0.55 per cent.
Meanwhile, Asian shares closed mostly higher tracking developments on the US-China trade talks front amid modest losses on Wall Street.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.54 per cent. In Europe, Frankfurt’s DAX dropped 0.22 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.15 per cent in their early deals. London’s FTSE gained 0.19 per cent.