Indian equity benchmarks ended slightly higher on Wednesday, May 20, supported mainly by gains in Reliance Industries and select banking and auto stocks.
The Sensex closed 118 points, or 0.16 percent, higher at 75,318.39, while the Nifty 50 settled 41 points, or 0.17 percent, up at 23,659.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index gained 0.51 percent, while the BSE Smallcap index edged up 0.09 percent.
Investor wealth increased by more than ₹1 lakh-crore in a single session as the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rose to over ₹461 lakh crore from ₹459.65 lakh crore in the previous session.
Shares of Reliance Industries jumped 3 percent and contributed the most to the gains in benchmark indices. Other major gainers on the Sensex included Bajaj Finserv, Trent, IndiGo and Axis Bank.
Among the laggards were Bharat Electronics, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and Tata Steel.
Among sectoral indices, Bank Nifty rose 0.29 percent, while PSU Bank and Private Bank indices gained 0.43 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively.
Nifty Oil and Gas climbed 1.59 percent and Auto advanced 0.84 percent. However, Nifty Media fell 1.45 percent, while FMCG and IT indices declined 0.71 percent and 0.42 percent, respectively.
Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments said markets recovered from intraday lows due to selective buying in large-cap auto, financial and oil and gas stocks.
He said better-than-expected March-quarter earnings supported auto and financial stocks, while recent fuel price hikes improved sentiment for oil marketing companies and refiners.
Brent crude prices declined about 2 percent to below $110 a barrel. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened by 13 paise to close at 96.83 against the dollar.
According to analysts, investors are now awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s April policy meeting minutes for cues on the interest rate outlook.
Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities said the short-term market trend remains non-directional. He said the immediate support zone for Nifty is placed at 23,500-23,400, while the 23,800-23,850 range remains a key resistance area.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said a sustained fall below 23,450 could drag Nifty towards 23,300 and 23,150 levels in the short term.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)
