Mumbai. The two-day decline in the local stock markets came to an end on Wednesday and the BSE Sensex rose by 150 points. The market remained strong due to buying in the shares of information technology companies amid the rise in the markets due to the expectation of a cut in the policy rate by the US Federal Reserve. The BSE Sensex based on 30 shares closed at 79,105.88 points with a gain of 149.85 points or 0.19 percent. At one point during trading, it had climbed up to 272.91 points.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also closed at 24,143.75 points with a marginal gain of 4.75 points or 0.02 percent. Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The domestic market remained in a limited range amid the rise in global markets. The IT index remained in the lead. This reflects the expectation that the retail inflation data to be released in the US today will be better. This may increase the scope for the Federal Reserve to cut the policy rate.” Among the Sensex companies, Tata Consultancy Services rose the most by 2.3 percent. Apart from this, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were the main gainers.
At the same time, the stocks that remained in loss include UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv. Mining stocks declined after the Supreme Court’s decision. Giving a big relief to the mineral-rich states, the apex court on Wednesday allowed them to collect royalty and tax dues from the Central Government on minerals and mineral-rich land in a phased manner in 12 years from April 1, 2005. NMDC fell six percent while Hind Copper fell four percent and NALCO fell 2.7 percent.
K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The PPI (Producer Price Inflation) data in the US indicates a softening of inflation. This will be confirmed by the Consumer Price Index based inflation data coming today. The US market rose on Tuesday due to the reduction in inflation and the expectation of the Federal Reserve cutting the policy rate in September.” The BSE Smallcap index, representing the shares of small companies, fell 0.57 percent while the midcap fell 0.41 percent.
In other Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei were in profit while China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were in loss. Major markets of Europe remained in positive zone. US markets were in gain on Tuesday. According to stock market data, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 2,107.17 crore on Tuesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,239.96 crore. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.59 percent to $ 81.17 per barrel. The stock market will remain closed on Thursday on the occasion of ‘Independence Day’.