Markets extend winning run as Reliance sparkles

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks notched up gains for the second straight session on Wednesday, propelled by market heavyweight Reliance Industries amid upbeat global cues.

However, border tensions with China and a weakening rupee capped the upside, traders said.

After starting on a choppy note, the BSE Sensex gained momentum in late-afternoon trade, before finally closing at 39,086.03, up 185.23 points or 0.48 per cent.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 64.75 points or 0.56 per cent to close at 11,535.

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5.77 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, ONGC and Infosys.

Reliance Industries jumped 1.97 per cent, accounting for over half of the index's gains.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Nestle India and HUL were among the laggards, shedding up to 2.62 per cent.

"After initially trading with uncertainty, the markets gained strength, in sync with positive global cues. European and Asian markets gained from encouraging economic data which could be assumed as an indicator towards an economic recovery in most of the major economies.

"Encouraging US, Chinese and European manufacturing data and also the expectation that US would bring in additional stimulus kept up the buoyancy in the markets.

"Domestically, investors chose to ignore the border tensions with China, which led to the volatility in the opening trades. With markets reacting to stock specific news and with heightened volatility, investors are advised to remain alert, trade cautiously and keep booking profits," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

All sectoral indices ended with gains. BSE energy, industrials, power, metal, telecom and teck indices rose as much as 1.80 per cent.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rallied up to 1.66 per cent.

In rest of Asia, bourses in Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth a net Rs 486.09 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.04 per cent higher at USD 45.60 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee depreciated 16 paise to end at 73.03 against the US dollar.

(PTI)