Photo: The Hindu Business line
Chennai, India (BBN) - The benchmark BSE Sensex ended marginally higher as traders remained cautious ahead of key macroeconomic data to be published later this week.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 45.2 points or 0.13 per cent at 33,724.44 after earling falling as much as 0.4 per cent. Similarly, the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed up 9.85 points or 0.09 per cent at 10,399.55 after earlier falling as much as 0.5 per cent, reports The Hindu Business Line.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most by 1.24 per cent, followed by power 1.22 per cent, infrastructure 0.91 per cent and consumer durables 0.53 per cent. On the other hand, metal index fell 0.65 per cent, IT 0.23 per cent, FMCG 0.19 per cent and oil & gas 0.13 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were NTPC (+3.13%), Axis Bank (+2.73%), ONGC (+1.41%), State Bank of India (+0.9%) and Wipro (+0.77%), while the major losers were Infosys (-1.23%), Tata Motors (-0.89%), Adani Ports (-0.88%), Tata Steel (-0.83%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.67%).
Benchmark 10-year bond yields were up 5 bps points at 7.05 per cent amid some disappointment after Standard & Poor's stuck with its “BBB-minus” sovereign rating for India, declining to follow Moody's recent decision to upgrade the country's rating.
The S&P rating was slightly disappointing as some upgrade had been anticipated following Moody's recent positive rating action, said Anita Gandhi, whole-time director at Arihant Capital Markets.
“In terms of valuations, markets are slightly on the higher side. The driving factor going forward will be the GDP and fiscal deficit data, expected on Thursday,” she added.
The Nifty PSU bank index fell as much as 1.3 per cent in its third straight session of losses, with State Bank of India shedding more than 1 per cent.
Infosys Ltd lost more than 1 per cent after gaining in the last four sessions as investors booked profits.
Axis Bank Ltd was the top gainer on the NSE index, rising as much as 2.3 per cent in its third straight session of gains.
“Axis Bank did not participate in the earlier rally of private banking stocks. The stock is still available at a relatively cheaper valuation,” Gandhi said.
Traders also remained wary due to likely rise in volatility ahead of expiry of November futures & options contracts and OPEC meeting on oil output cut later this week.
Asian stocks gave back earlier modest gains and fell back from a decade high on Monday, weighed by weakness in the Chinese and South Korean markets, while the euro reached a two-month top against the dollar.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia–Pacific shares outside Japan rose early in the session on Friday’s Wall Street gains but was last down 0.65 per cent.
BBN/MMI/ANS