Stock market recovers after buying in ending session; Nifty closes above 17750
Equity benchmark Sensex on Wednesday closed 123 points higher for the third consecutive session due to heavy buying in banking and financial stocks amid a weak trend in global equity markets. However, weakness in the rupee against major currencies weighed on market sentiment and limited the gains.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 123.63 points, or 0.21 per cent, higher at 60,348.09. The index touched a high of 60,402.85 and a low of 59,844.82 during the session. The NSE Nifty closed at 17,754.40, up 42.95 points or 0.24 per cent.
Top gainers and losers
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 4.75 per cent, followed by M&M, L&T, NTPC, ITC, Ultra Cement, Tata Steel, Maruti and SBI. Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Sun Pharma declined up to 2.30 per cent. The BSE Midcap index rose 0.61 per cent, and the Smallcap index gained 0.28 per cent. The stock markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Holi.
Global markets sentiment
In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong ended with losses, while Tokyo ended in the green. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading with losses in the afternoon session. US markets closed with a sharp decline yesterday. The rupee declined 13 paise to close at 82.05 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent lower at $83.16 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, buying shares worth Rs 721.37 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
