Markets ended a volatile trading session on a positive note this Wednesday as investors bought stocks in real-estate and healthcare sectors after benchmark indices dropped for three consecutive trading sessions.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex rose 22.44 points to end at 19,568.28 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share was up 4.4 points at 5,923.85.
Global risk appetite was frail amid fear that the Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus sooner-than-expected and after Japan’s Prime Minister failed to cheer investors through his growth strategy.
Asian shares ended lower with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declining 1% to 22,069, China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.07% to 2,270, Singapore’s Straits Times fell 1.4% to 3,245 while Japan’s Nikkei slumped 4% to 13,042 today.
Meanwhile, the European indices traded lower. France’s CAC fell 0.37% to 3,911, Germany’s DAX declined 0.07% to 8,289 while UK’s FTSE shed 0.48% to 6,527 in today’s trades.
Back home, oil & gas, real-estate, healthcare, metal indexes gained while IT, consumer durables and technologies lead the declines on the BSE.
The gainers on the Sensex included Reliance Industries gaining 2.6%, Sun Pharma added 2%, GAIL was up 1%, ONGC rose 2% while Maruti Suzuki added 1.3% on the BSE.
The laggards were Wipro and Infosys falling over 1% each, ITC declined 1%, Coal India dropped 0.5% while Bajaj Auto fell 0.6% on the BSE.
The key notable movers in today's session were, HMT which soared 8% after board approved fundraising of Rs 443 crore via preference share issue to government.
Shares of TTK Prestige were up nearly 2% at Rs 3,519 after the company late Tuesday announced that it has raised Rs 106 crore through issue of equity shares at a premium.
Reliance Industries ended up 2.6% amid speculation the company may announce a potential tie-up with Reliance Communications Ltd in Thursday's AGM.
Shares of Just Dial, which made their stock market debut today, ended at Rs 612 after the company received huge reponse for its initial public offering.
Shares in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd rose 2% after Swedish drugmaker MedaAB said it was not involved in discussions with a potential buyer, contradicting reports that the two companies were in talks.
Hanung Toys & Textiles surged 6% after the company said it will consider splitting equity share.
Shares of cement stocks are under pressure in opening trades on Wednesday as cement prices have eased and concerns over slowdown in demand following the onset of monsoon rains.
Among the cement majors ACC was down 1% at Rs 1,203, Ambuja Cements slipped 2% to Rs 171, UltraTech Cement was down 0.5% to Rs 1,850.
Meanwhile, Larsen & Toubro gained 1% after country's biggest construction company won an infrastructure contract worth nearly $300 million from Saudi Aramco
The broader markets ended higher with mid-caps and small-caps gaining nearly 0.1% on the BSE.
The market breadth was negative. Out of 2,488 stocks traded, 1,256 stocks declined compared to 1,083 advanced on the BSE.
