Mumbai, April 20 (PTI): Markets finished higher for the second straight session Thursday, with benchmark Sensex rising 86 points as investors snapped up recently beaten down counters amid upbeat global cues.
Brokers said a mixed trend at other Asian markets after crude oil prices rebounded from an overnight sell-off and Japan reported stronger-than-expected exports in March bolstered sentiments.
Back home, mid and small-cap stocks attracted value buying after a week-long consolidation, which added to the momentum.
The Sensex opened strong and shuttled between 29,453.06 and 29,341.68, before ending at 29,422.39, a gain of 85.82 points, or 0.29 per cent. The barometer had gained 17.47 points in Wednesday’s trade.
On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty stayed in the green throughout the session and hit a high of 9,143.90, before closing at 9,136.40, up 32.90 points or 0.36 per cent.Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 673.38 crore during Wednesday’s trading session, as per provisional data.
“Though large-caps remained sluggish, mid and small-caps remained higher after a week-long consolidation attracted value buying.
“IT stocks’ recovery amid rupee giving away some of its gains, lent market support, while European markets’ rally ahead of French presidential elections also boosted sentiments, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
The BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.66 per cent, while the Small-Cap index gained 1.14 per cent.
IT stocks, that had lost ground on disappointing quarterly earnings, recovered on value-buying at existing lower levels.
Infosys, which lost about 5 per cent since the company announced a lower-than-expected revenue guidance, recovered by 0.96 per cent to Rs 927.65, while TCS rose 1.16 per cent to Rs 2,328.35. Wipro too rose 0.36 per cent to Rs 500.
Private sector lender Yes Bank plunged 3.76 per cent after it Wednesday reported rise in NPA levels for the quarter ended March, even though net profit grew 30.2 per cent to Rs 914.12 crore.
ICICI Bank and Axis Bank too were under pressure and lost up to 2.90 per cent.
Globally, Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.97 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.04 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei ended a shade lower.
In Europe, France’s Paris CAC 40 was up 1.02 per cent, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.23 per cent. However, London’s FTSE was down 0.09 per cent in early deals.
Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 scrips ended higher while 9 declined.
Major gainers were Gail (2.02 per cent), Adani Ports (1.83 per cent), HDFC (1.82 per cent), Asian Paints (1.37 per cent), Maruti (1.17 per cent), TCS (1.16 per cent), Lupin (1.15 per cent), M&M (1.13 per cent), HDFC Bank (1.03 per cent), Infosys (0.96 per cent), Bajaj Auto (0.70 per cent) and HUL (0.65 per cent).
However, ICICI Bank fell 2.90 per cent, Axis Bank 2.26 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.28 per cent, Power Grid 1.21 per cent, NTPC 0.97 per cent, Coal India 0.78 per cent and ONGC 0.22 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, realty rose 2.14 per cent, consumer durables 1.23 per cent, IT 0.99 per cent, teck 0.96 per cent, industrials 0.85 per cent, auto 0.70 per cent, capital goods 0.69 per cent and FMCG 0.55 per cent.
However, Bankex fell 0.53 per cent, energy 0.30 per cent, power 0.17 per cent and healthcare 0.14 per cent.
The market breadth remained positive as 1,829 stocks ended higher, 1,040 closed lower while 166 ruled steady.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,028.59 crore, higher than Rs 3,364.37 crore registered during the previous session.
