Markets climb for third straight day
MUMBAI: Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rose for the third session in a row on Wednesday, tracking a rebound in broader Asian markets as easing in bond yields calmed investor jitters globally. At the closing bell, the BSE gauge Sensex quoted 254.03 points or 0.50% higher at 51,279.51 – taking its three-session gains to 874.19 points or 1.73%.
While the NSE barometer Nifty closed higher by 76.40 points or 0.51% to 15,174.80 – aggregating its three-day gains to 276.70 points or 1.85%.
On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance was the top gainer with 2.34% rise, followed by Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and Infosys.
On the other hand, ONGC, Kotak Bank, ITC, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries and Maruti were the laggards.
Of the Sensex shares, 23 ended in the green. Sectorally, BSE metal, IT, healthcare, basic materials and durables indices rose up to 1.82%. Auto index too rose 0.82% buoyed by encouraging sales data.
Passenger vehicle sales in India increased 17.92% to 2,81,380 units in February as compared with same month last year, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday.
Among the major sectoral laggards were oil and gas, utilities, and power.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Domestic markets mirrored positive cues from its global peers, tracking gains from the US market as bond yields pulled back easing concerns about rising inflation.”
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended with losses, while Hong Kong and Tokyo settled on a positive note. Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading with gains in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.59% lower at $67.12 per barrel.
On the forex market front, the rupee edged marginally higher by 2 paise to settle the day at 72.91 against the US dollar. Domestic stock, forex, debt and commodity derivatives markets will remain closed on Thursday on account of Mahashivratri.