The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed in the green for the second consecutive session. The domestic indices, which opened lower in early morning, pared losses and settled higher, mostly due to buying in IT counters. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 307 points to end at 65,982. The index hit an intraday high of 66,358. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,765, up 90 points. It hit an intraday high of 19,875.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, HCL, TechM, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, NTPC were among gainers. On the downside, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, ITC, ICICI Bank, L&T, JSW Steel emerged losers.
#ABPLiveStockMarketWatch | Sensex and Nifty closed higher for the second consecutive session, on Thursday
At 04:00 PM, #Sensex gained 307 points to 65,982 & #Nifty 90 points to close at 19,765
Here’s a look at the stocks in focus:#ABPLive #ClosingBell #MarketWatch pic.twitter.com/Kp86n6lzuL
— ABP LIVE (@abplive) November 16, 2023
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices added 1 per cent each.
Sectorally, information technology stocks advanced nearly 3 per cent, while realty, oil & gas and auto rose 1 per cent each. Nifty PSU Bank index declined 0.24 per cent, the Nifty FMCG dropped 0.15 per cent, while the Nifty Bank dipped 0.09 per cent.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex zoomed 742 points to end at 65,676, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 19,675, up 232 points.
“Although key indices pared gains towards the closing hour, markets continued their upward bias due to an upsurge in IT and realty stocks. Moderating inflation in the US could be signalling that the Federal Reserve may be done with rate hikes, which is good for global markets. Further, domestic economic numbers like exports have shown signs of recovery, which has further boosted the market sentiment and has triggered renewed buying interest in recent sessions,” Prashanth Tapse, Research Analyst-Sr VP Research, Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul settled in the green, while Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading on a mixed note. The US markets ended with gains on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.54 per cent to $80.74 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Wednesday as they bought equities worth Rs 550.19 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Indian rupee dropped by 14 paise to settle at 83.23 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday due to foreign fund outflows and a firm greenback in the overseas markets. Losses in crude oil prices, however, helped the rupee restrict the fall, forex dealers said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 83.18 against the US currency. The local unit remained under pressure in the day trade moving in a range of 83.17 to 83.25. The rupee settled at 83.23 (provisional) against the US dollar, showing a loss of 14 paise over the last close.