HDFC Bank, Infosys help Sensex settle 259 pts higher, Nifty ends at 11,605

The domestic stock market ended in the positive territory for the second straight day on Wednesday, thanks to buying in blue-chip counters such as HDFC Bank, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and ICICI Bank.  

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 258.5 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 39,303 levels while the Nifty50 index surpassed the 11,600-mark to end at 11,605, up 83 points, or 0.72 per cent. India VIX fell nearly 5 per cent to 19.6 levels. 

M&M (up over 4 per cent) ended as the top Sensex gainer, followed by Bajaj Auto (up 3.4 per cent). On the other hand, IndusInd Bank (down nearly 2 per cent) was the biggest loser.

Shares of Dr. Reddy's ended over 4 per cent higher at Rs 4,631.55 on the BSE after the company said it has agreed to cooperate with Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF on clinical trials and distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India. Upon regulatory approval in India, RDIF shall supply to Dr. Reddy’s 100 million doses of the vaccine. READ MORE

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was largely positive. The Nifty Pharma index gained over 2 per cent while the Nifty Auto ended over 1.5 per cent higher at 8,156 levels. Nifty Realty index also ended over 2 per cent higher at 226 levels.  

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.21 per cent higher at 15,046 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 15,431, up 0.44 per cent. 

Global markets

European shares were mixed at the opening, but then rose, with the Stoxx 600 up around 0.3 per cent, pushed up by gains in retail stocks.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was up 0.2 per cent at the time of writing of this report, while MSCI’s main European Index was up 0.3 per cent.

In commodities, oil rose for a second day on Wednesday, gaining more than 2 per cent, as a hurricane closed US offshore oil and gas production and an industry report showed US crude inventories decreased.

(With inputs from Reuters)