The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, closed in the green for the third consecutive day after select index heavyweights lifted the market during the fag end of the session. The domestic indices, however, which opened lower, continued trading in the red for almost major part of the session.
The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an early morning low of 59,845, ended at 60,348, up 124 points or 0.21 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty50 recouped from a low of 17,602, to end at 17,754, up 43 points or 0.24 per cent.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, IndusInd Bank, M&M, L&T, NTPC, ITC, UltraCemco emerged winners. Among top large gainers, IndusInd Bank rallied nearly 5 per cent, Adani Ports and Adani Entertainment 3 per cent each, Bajaj Auto 2 per cent, and M&M, ITC and L&T up to 1.5 per cent. On the flipside, Bajaj Finance slipped over 2 per cent. The other losers were TechM, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, HCL.
#ABPLiveStockMarketWatch | Indian equity benchmarks on Wednesday closed in green
At 03:30 PM, #Sensex gains 124 points to 60,348 & #Nifty up 43 points to close at 17,754
Here’s a look at the stocks in focus:#ClosingBell #ABPLive #MarketWatch pic.twitter.com/aH4invn3x0
— ABP LIVE (@abplive) March 8, 2023
In the broader markets, MidCap and SmallCap indices ended in the green zone, with up to 0.66 per cent gain.
Sectorwise, the Nifty Realty and Pharma indices were the worst hit (down 0.68 per cent and 0.49 per cent, respectively), while the Nifty Auto index advanced 0.85 per cent.
In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 60,224, up 415 points. On the other hand, the Nifty50 advanced 117 points to close at 17,711.
Stock markets remained closed on Tuesday on account of Holi.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai, Seoul, and Hong Kong ended with losses, while Tokyo settled in the green. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading with losses in the afternoon session. The US markets had ended significantly lower in the overnight session.
The rupee slipped 13 paise to close at 82.05 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday. Forex traders said the Dollar index gained strength after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reignited worries of a 50-bps rate hike in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to be held on March 21-22, 2023.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.25 against the greenback and closed at 82.03 (provisional), registering a fall of 11 paise over its previous close of 81.92 on Monday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent lower at $83.16 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in capital markets as they bought shares worth Rs 721.37 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.