Sensex ends higher for 4th day

PowerGrid topped the Sensex gainers' chart, climbing 4.13 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, UltraTech Cement and HDFC. HDFC twins accounted

Mumbai: Equity indices closed in the green for the fourth successive session on Wednesday as robust buying in banking and finance stocks outweighed profit booking in IT counters. After gyrating 825.54 points in a highly volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 162.94 points or 0.40 per cent higher at 40,707.31. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 40.85 points or 0.34 per cent to finish at 11,937.65.

PowerGrid topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, climbing 4.13 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, UltraTech Cement and HDFC. HDFC twins accounted for over half of the benchmark’s gains. On the other hand, TCS, Reliance Industries, Nestle India, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finance were among the main laggards, shedding up to 2.30 per cent.

“Indian markets displayed strong positive trends at the early hours of trade and took a sharp correction in the second half, due to the fall of heavyweights. Reliance Industries contributed most of the fall in index due to dispute in Future group deal and high valuation. But the market is maintaining its confidence due to a turnaround in earnings growth based on ongoing Q2 results. Till date the results are good while any weakness or shortfall in the future will impact the market going forward. Western markets are trading in the negative due to decreasing optimism over US stimulus. We expect the market to remain volatile in the near future as market has digested a lot about the results and as we near the US election date,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

BSE realty, telecom, metal, utilities, power, bankex and finance indices rallied up to 4.39 per cent, while energy, FMCG, IT and auto indices closed with losses. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 0.23 per cent. Asian markets rose on signs that US lawmakers are moving towards agreeing on a new stimulus package before the presidential elections. In the forex market, the rupee pared its initial gains and depreciated 9 paise to close at 73.58 against the US dollar.