Markets rise for 5th straight day on IT, energy boost
Market benchmarks marched higher for the fifth straight session on Thursday as investors accumulated energy, financial and IT stocks amid a mixed trend in global equities.
A rebounding rupee and fresh buying by foreign funds added to the momentum, traders said.
Clawing back lost ground in early deals, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 284.42 points or 0.51% to settle at 55,681.95. During the day, it jumped 340.96 points or 0.61% to 55,738.49.
The broader NSE Nifty went higher by 84.40 points or 0.51% to 16,605.25.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, rising 7.88%, followed by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, and Power Grid.
Shares of IndusInd Bank climbed 7.88% after the company reported a 60.5% jump in net profit for the quarter ended June.
HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Kotak Bank and Dr Reddy’s were the losers, sliding up to 1.89%.
“With support from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) buying, the domestic market was able to withstand the downward pressure from global markets to close on a positive note. Global indices traded lower on rate hike worries...,” according to Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. Markets in Seoul and Tokyo ended in the green, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note during midsession deals. The markets in the US had ended higher on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 3.90% to $102.8 per barrel.
FIIs were net buyers on Wednesday, picking up shares worth ₹1,780.94 crore, as per exchange data.
The rupee recovered from its all-time low of 80.06 to close 20 paise higher at 79.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday following overall weakness in crude oil prices.
“FIIs have turned net buyers of local shares to the tune of ₹ 1,781 crore on Wednesday, extending the buying momentum for the third straight session,” said Prashanth Tapse, vice president (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
Most sectoral indices were in the green, led by Telecom (2.16%), Capital Goods (2.08), Industrials (1.45%) and Oil and Gas (1.32%). Healthcare was the only index that ended in the red. ”The Nifty rose for the fifth consecutive session on July 21 aided by encouraging overnight US markets cues,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities.