Mumbai, India (BBN) – The Nifty and the Sensex edged higher after five consecutive sessions of declines, in line with Asian shares following a record-breaking session on Wall Street overnight.
At 12:37pm, the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 47.63 points or 0.18 per cent at 26,355.61 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 12.7 points or 0.16 per cent at 8,095.10, reports The Hindu Business Line.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most by 1.25 per cent, followed by metal 0.88 per cent, power 0.8 per cent and PSU 0.56 per cent. On the other hand, FMCG index was down 0.37 per cent, consumer durables 0.09 per cent and TECk 0.02 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were M&M (+1.62%), Bajaj Auto (+1.18%), NTPC (+1.02%), HDFC (+0.97%) and ICICI Bank (+0.95%), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-1.26%), GAIL (-0.84%), TCS (-0.84%), Tata Motors (-0.68%) and ITC (-0.65%).
RECORD HIGH
The NASDAQ Composite rose to an all-time high while the Dow Jones industrial average flirted with the 20,000 mark, in a rally fuelled by optimism about US President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.31 per cent on Wednesday.
Investors now keep an eye out for the minutes of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting earlier this month, expected later in the day, for clues about the economy and the central bank’s stance after demonetisation.
The central bank had unexpectedly kept its key policy rate unchanged on December 7, despite calls for action in the face of an intense cash shortage that threatens to slam the brakes on the world’s fastest-growing large economy.
“The feel-good factor has been missing from the market post-demonetisation,” said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
“We will have to wait and watch if the government announces anything substantial early next year to lift investor sentiment. We can then expect a pre-budget rally.”
Analysts are of the view that markets will trade in a narrow range until the effects of demonetisation pan out with better clarity.
Financial stocks bounced back from the previous session’s losses and were the major contributors to the gains. ICICI Bank and State Bank of India rose up to 1.4 per cent each.
However, consumer stocks were among the biggest losers with ITC Ltd, the country’s largest cigarette maker, declining as much as 1 per cent.
A report by IFA Global said: “Asian stock markets are trading in the green, with Hang Seng index trading higher by 90 points and Nikkei index trading higher by 28 points after recovery in major global indices. US stock markets closed on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 91 points and Nasdaq index closed higher by 26 points. US equities closed at fresh record high levels as investors remained unfazed by geopolitical tensions. European stock markets closed on a positive note, with FTSE closed higher by 26 points and CAC higher by 27 points. European markets ended the day higher as investors digested news of two separate attacks in Germany and Turkish capital.”
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