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Chennai, India (BBN) - Reversing a four-day losing streak, the Sensex ended higher by 37 points on value-buying by domestic investors in IT, TECk, healthcare and metal stocks.
Trading was highly volatile throughout the day ahead of RBI’s monetary policy review and Gujarat elections later this week. The central bank is scheduled to announce the fifth bi- monthly policy of the current fiscal on December 6, reports The Hindu Business Line.
The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee is likely to keep the policy repo rate on hold in the upcoming monetary policy review on account of various factors, including likelihood of retail inflation nudging up due to higher prices of vegetables and protein items, rising crude oil prices, risk of fiscal slippage, and possibility of the US Fed upping interest rates.
Traders were also keeping an eye on Gujarat elections. A curious catalyst has surfaced in the electoral chemistry of Gujarat.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 36.78 points or 0.11 per cent at 32,869.72 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed up by 5.95 points or 0.06 per cent at 10,127.75. The Sensex touched a high of 33,008.47 and a low of 32,785.76.
Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index gained the most by 1.37 per cent, followed by TECk 1.08 per cent, metal 0.5 per cent and healthcare 0.32 per cent. On the other hand, realty index fell 0.54 per cent, power 0.41 per cent, banking 0.3 per cent and auto 0.21 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Infosys (+2.8%), HUL (+1.37%), HDFC (+1.25%), Tata Motors (+1.06%) and Tata Steel (+1.03%), while the major losers were Coal India (-2.09%), Maruti (-1.1%), Asian Paints (-1.02%), Sun Pharma (-0.95%), Reliance (-0.92%).
Shares of Infosys climbed as much as 4.7 per cent on hopes that the appointment of a new CEO would help the company move on from a feud between its board and founders that had pummelled shares.
Biocon shares rallied as much as 14.2 per cent to Rs. 510 as the US Food and Drug Administration had on Friday approved Mylan NV's biosimilar of Roche's blockbuster treatment for breast cancer, Herceptin, making it the second copycat cancer drug to be approved in the United States.
Any gains in domestic equities are also likely to be capped ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting on Wednesday. Although the central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold, investors will watch for any hints of a cut at the February meeting in its statement.
“We had a positive opening in line with Asian peers. We also had some index heavyweights supporting positivity, putting a temporary stop to the negativity that we had seen late last week,” said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
However, markets still look a little hesitant going into the last month of the year, he added.
EARLY TRADE
The 30-share index gained 175.53 points or 0.53 per cent to 33,008.47 with sectoral indices led by IT, TECk and healthcare trading in the positive zone. The gauge had tanked 891.50 points in the previous four sessions. The Nifty jumped 57.40 points or 0.56 per cent to 10,179.20.
According to provisional data, foreign funds had bought shares worth Rs. 306.11 crore on Friday.
ASIAN SHARES
The US dollar bounced to a two-week top on Monday as traders celebrated the passage of a Senate tax bill over the weekend, while stronger US stock futures pointed to a merry start for Asian shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 40.76 points or 0.17 per cent to 24,231, while the S&P500 lost 5.36 points or 0.20 per cent to 2,642. The Nasdaq Composite index also dropped 26.39 points or 0.38 per cent to 6,847.59 on developments with a probe into Russia’s alleged involvement in the US election as well as with progress on a tax Bill in Congress.
BBN/MMI/ANS