Side indices raced ahead with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap advancing 0.4% and 0.3% up, respectively.
The benchmark indices on Thursday settled higher thanks to gains in index heavyweight stocks such as ITC, Tata Motors and Infosys even as Asian markets ended lower after Fed Chair Janet Yellen signalled at future rate hikes in US.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 27,308, up 51 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 8,435, up 18 points.
Side indices raced ahead with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap advancing 0.4% and 0.3% up, respectively.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,422 shares rose and 1,310 shares declined. A total of 194 shares were unchanged.
Nifty traded dull for the sixth consecutive session and settled marginally higher, in absence of any major trigger. Again, it was stock specific move which helped traders to some extent. On the other hand, mostly sectoral indices traded in line with the benchmark index and ended on flat note," said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities.
"We reiterate our buy on dips approach while keeping focus on stock selection till consolidation continues. Auto, private banks and select NBFCs top our preference list and we suggest targeting stocks from these sectors for fresh longs," he added.
Sector and stocks
BSE Oil & Gas index (up 2%) was the top sectoral gainer, led by gains in GAIL (up 5.6%), Petronet (up 3.4%) and IOC (up 3.3%). Other sectoral gainers included BSE Telecom (up 1.4%) and BSE Energy (up 1%).
Among individual stocks, Gail (India) soared 5.6% to Rs 464 on the BSE after the company announced a bonus issue and fund raising plans. It was the top Sensex gainer.
Hatsun Agro Products hit a record high of Rs 454, up 14% after the company reported a strong 64% year on year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 28.81 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 (Q3FY17).
Among losers, KPIT Technologies dipped 4.5% to Rs 138 after the dollar revenue of the company for December 2016 quarter (Q3FY17) declined 0.44% to $123 million. In constant currency terms there was a marginal growth of 0.2%.
Global markets
European shares rose on Thursday ahead of European Central Bank (ECB)'s rate decision scheduled today where central Bank is expected to hold rates in its first meeting of 2017.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index and Germany’s DAX were up 0.1%, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.2% firmer.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend to gain 0.9% thanks to the tailwind of the weaker yen.
Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
