Sensex gains 69 pts; realty, banking steal the show

Covering-up of short positions ahead of Thursday's expiry of September series in the derivatives segment too gave domestic equities a push

The benchmark Sensex staged a mild recovery to end with gains of over 69 points, snapping its three-session losing run, supported by rebound in realty, banking and auto stocks amid positive European cues.

Moreover, covering-up of short positions ahead of Thursday's expiry of September series in the derivatives segment too gave domestic equities a push.

But caution prevailed in markets with domestic investors and foreign funds anxiously awaiting the next week's RBI monetary policy, the first under new RBI Governor Urjit Patel and the first to be decided by the six-member panel.

After a subdued opening at 28,198.88 points, the Sensex quickly moved into the positive zone and hit a high of 28,378.56, before settling at 69.11 points or 0.24 per cent higher at 28,292.81.

The 30-scrip gauge had lost almost 550 points in the previous three sessions.

The NSE Nifty ended at 8,745.15, showing a gain of 38.75 points, or 0.45 per cent, after hovering between 8,767.05 and 8,703.15 during the day.

For the better part of the day, the Sensex moved in a limited range in view of upcoming expiry in the derivatives segment, brokers said.

Shares of Tata steel emerged as the best performer among the 30-share constituents by jumping 3.25 per cent to Rs 379.80, followed by Bharti Airtel 2.42 per cent to Rs 321.60.

Other big gainers that supported the key indices were Adani Ports, SBI, ONGC, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Power Grid, M&M, ITC Ltd, Dr Reddy's, GAIL, HDFC Ltd and NTPC, rising by up to 2.27 per cent.

As many as 19 constituents in the 30-share Sensex gained, while RIL, Coal India, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Cipla, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro and Infosys finished lower by up to 1.87 per cent. ICICI Bank remained unchanged at Rs 260.80.

Sector-wise, metal jumped the most by 1.92 per cent, followed by realty 1.42 per cent, auto 1.24 per cent, PSU 1.11 per cent, capital goods 1.02 per cent and consumer durables 0.97 per cent.

The broader markets too displayed a firm trend as retail investors widened their bets, with BSE small-cap index rising 1.04 per cent and mid-cap 0.91 per cent.

Shares of tyre maker MRF Ltd soared to Rs 50,000-mark for the first time before settling Rs 3,135.35, or 6.73 per cent, higher at Rs 49,734.45 on the BSE. On NSE, it zoomed to a lifetime high of Rs 50,190 (intra-day) and settled Rs 3,190.95, or 6.85 per cent, higher at Rs 49,753.35.

Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 155.76 crore, on Tuesday, as per provisional data.

US stocks rose, on Tuesday, after the first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican contender Donald Trump and a number of stronger-than-expected economic reports.

European markets also joined the uptrend with investor sentiment being boosted by a rally in the banking sector.

Investors track developments ahead of a meeting of members and non-members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) today. Key indices in France, Germany and UK rose by 0.57 per cent to 0.72 per cent.

However, most of the Asian markets remained lacklustre, not sure about which way the upcoming oil producers' meeting will pan out.

The OPEC oil group and Russia are scheduled to meet later today in Algeria to discuss a global oil surplus that has kept prices muted for more than two years.

Asian markets witnessed a fall led by drop in Japanese stocks by 1.31 pct. Other indices like China, Singapore and South Korea fell by 0.08 per cent to 1.31 per cent while Hong Kong Hang Seng firmed up by 0.20 per cent.

Photograph: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters