Mumbai: Rising for the third session, the benchmark Sensex today edged 11.44 points higher to end at over one-week closing peak of 25,561.16 supported by gains in shares from metal, power and consumer durable sectors.
After two days of sharp rally, trading was range-bound and profit-taking was seen in realty, oil & gas and auto scrips, amid weakness in Asian as well as European markets.
However, second-line stocks in the domestic market continued their upward sprint on sustained buying by retail investors. The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices logged over 1.3 per cent rise each, outpacing Sensex's marginal 0.04 per cent upmove.
The BSE 30-share gauge resumed stable and continued to veer in and out of positive terrain in a limited breadth of almost 120 points. It finally settled at 25,561.16, a small rise of 11.44 points or 0.04 per cent. This is its strongest closing level since 25,582.11 on July 8.
“Profit booking was seen in the market as investors preferred to stay cautious at higher levels,” said Jignesh
Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services.
In three days now, the Sensex has jumped 554.18 points or 2.22 per cent. In the previous two sessions, markets were upbeat after positive economic data and the RBI's easing of financing norms for infrastructure development boosted buying.
Meanwhile, the broader 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also gained 16.05 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 7,640.45.
Shares of Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Hindalco, L&T, SBI, NTPC, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Power, Infosys and Coal India notched smart gains. Laggards were led by M&M, ICICI Bank, RIL, TCS, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto.
Coal India gained more than 2.86 per cent after Power & Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has taken steps to improve coal production.
Bajaj Auto lost 2.27 percent on flat growth in Q1 profit. Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors bought shares worth net Rs 621.68 crore yesterday as per provisional data.
Indices in Singapore and South Korea moved up by 0.07-0.37 per cent while indices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan eased in 0.01-0.81 per cent range. Europe was also trading lower as indices in France, Germany and UK moved down by 0.29-0.51 per cent.
“After two days of successive rise, the benchmarks were seen opening on flat note on Thursday and traded in a narrow range throughout the session. Sentiments were on the positive side on report that heavy showers have narrowed the monsoon deficit to 36 per cent, accelerating crop planting. The weather office has forecasted more rains in the days ahead,” said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities Limited.
Seventeen scrips out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended higher while 13 others finished lower.
Major gainers included Hindalco 3.91 per cent, Tata Power 3.53 per cent, Tata Steel 2.99 per cent, NTPC 2.63 per cent, Sesa Sterlite 1.84 per cent, Cipla 1.24 per cent, BHEL 1.10 per cent, Tata Motors 0.97 per cent and SBI 0.95 per cent. However, M&M fell by 3.18 per cent, Bajaj Auto 2.27 per cent, Gail India 0.91 per cent and Maruti Suzuki 0.87 per cent.
Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Metal rose by 2.46 per cent followed by Power 2.36 per cent, Consumer Durable 2.11 per cent, Capital Goods 1.16 per cent and Healthcare 0.57 per cent while Realty declined by 0.77 per cent and Oil & Gas slipped 0.42 per cent.
Market breadth remained positive as 1,746 stocks ended higher, 1,188 stocks finished lower while 112 ruled steady. The total turnover rose further to Rs 4,519.30 crore from Rs 3,540.77 crore yesterday.
