Mumbai, India (BBN)-The Sensex and Nifty ended slightly higher on Thursday after a choppy session as investors awaited fresh triggers as the earnings season gains momentum amid an uncertain global scenario.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 50.96 points or 0.19 per cent at 27,308.60 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed up 18.1 points or 0.22 per cent at 8,435.10, reports The Hindu Business Line.
Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas index gained the most by 2 per cent, consumer durables 1.02 per cent, PSU 0.91 per cent and infrastructure 0.66 per cent.
On the other hand, healthcare index was down 0.3 per cent, banking 0.07 per cent and realty 0.03 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were GAIL (+4.87 per cent), Tata Motors (+1.59 per cent), ONGC (+1.47 per cent), Bharti Airtel (+1.42 per cent) and ITC (+1.12 per cent), while the major losers were Lupin (-0.85 per cent), Axis Bank (-0.74 per cent), HDFC (-0.67 per cent), HDFC (-0.6 per cent) and HUL (-0.52 per cent).
FRESH TRIGGERS
Investors are waiting for a trigger in an environment that has many variables, said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president of research at SMC Global Securities, referring to the corporate results season, the federal budget, and clarity on US President-elect Donald Trump's policies.
“Some of the financial stocks have always traded at a premium and any kind of bad news or even an expectation of negative news leads to apprehension and which is why we can see a bit of profit-taking and also why these stocks are oscillating within a range,” said Jain.
The dollar rebounded, Asian shares slipped and government bond yields soared to multi-week highs on Thursday after US central bank chief Janet Yellen signalled a path of steady interest rate increases for the world’s largest economy.
BBN/SK/AD