Mumbai: Continuing its rising streak for the seventh session, market benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 100 points Wednesday, driven by gains in index majors like Asian Paints, Axis Bank and SBI amid strengthening rupee and falling global crude prices. Besides, the Reserve Bank’s decision on Tuesday to increase liquidity infusion by Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore in December buoyed sentiment. The central bank had earlier announced to infuse liquidity amounting to Rs 40,000 crore through the purchase of government securities under open market operations (OMOs) during December.
In global markets, Asian stocks traded mixed as investors await Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day. The 30-share index started off on a strong footing at 36,441.46 and hit the session’s high of 36,554.99 before settling 137.25 points, or 0.38 per cent, higher at 36,484.33. The barometer had rallied over 1,387 points in the previous six sessions. The NSE Nifty too ended 58.60 points, or 0.54 per cent, higher at 10,967.30 after shuttling between 10,985.15 and 10,928 during the session.
According to analysts, market momentum remained positive on sharp fall in bond yield and continued infusion of liquidity by RBI via open market operation. On global front, market is expecting dovish hike by the US Fed which is likely to calm investors’ nerves in the emerging markets like India, they added. Markets are expecting a low interest rate environment and pro-growth policies by the new RBI governor to reduce credit squeeze and spur growth, said Viral Berawala, CIO of Essel Mutual Fund. Domestic trading sentiment also remained bullish backed by persistent fall in crude oil prices, which dropped to over 15-month low, strengthening rupee against the dollar and fresh capital inflows by foreign funds, brokers said.
After breaching the 70 mark against the US dollar by hitting a high of 69.87 in early trade, the rupee slipped to 70.40 against the dollar in late afternoon session at the interbank forex market. Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.39 per cent, followed by Axis Bank up 3.18 per cent. Other gainers included SBI 2.68 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 2.04 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.84 per cent, ITC 1.76 per cent, Wipro 1.49 per cent, NTPC 1.49 per cent, HDFC 1.28 per cent, M&M 1.26 per cent, PowrGrid 1.20 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.17 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.02 per cent, Adani Ports 0.66 per cent, L&T 0.44 per cent, Yes Bank 0.39 per cent, ONGC 0.37 per cent and RIL 0.06 per cent.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, TCS, Vedanta, Kotak bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Coal India were under pressure, losing up to 2.10 per cent. Shares of aviation companies rose after crude prices hit over 15-month low. InterGlobe Aviation, SpiceJet and Jet Airways rallied up to 4.33 per cent. Stocks of oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC, too gained up to 2.53 per cent. Sector-wise, the BSE realty index gained the most by rising 3.11 per cent, followed by infrastructure index up 1.81 per cent. PSU, power, oil & gas, auto, bankex, capital goods, metal, healthcare, consumer durables indices too ended higher by up to 1.51 per cent.
However, information technology and teck index ended lower by up to 1.08 per cent. The broader markets also displayed a firm trend, with the BSE mid-cap index rising 1.50 per cent and small-cap index gaining 1.09 per cent. Most Asian markets ended lower, while European shares were up in early deals. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.60 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.05 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.20 per cent. In the euro zone, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.40 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.19 per cent and London’s FTSE was up 0.37 per cent.
