Sensex reclaims 72k level

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex climbed over 225 points to reclaim the 72,000 mark, while NSE Nifty settled close to the 22,000 level on Thursday on hectic buying in market heavyweights M&M, HDFC Bank and SBI, and positive global cues. Heavy demand for auto, energy and utility stocks also boosted the momentum as the market consolidated the gains, traders said.

Rising for the third straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 227.55 points or 0.32 per cent to close at 72,050.38 points. The index touched a high of 72,164.97 points and a low of 71,644.44 points during intra-day trade. The broader NSE Nifty also gained 70.70 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 21,910.75 points. Sensex and Nifty started on a positive note, but turned volatile soon after. During the day, the indices witnessed a range-bound trading with a positive bias and buying accelerated in the second half of the trading session. Shares of HDFC Bank surged 2.15 per cent to close at Rs 1,413.75 apiece against its previous close.

“The benchmark indexes inched higher, mirroring the positive sentiment prevailing in the global market. The disinflation trend in the euro zone, coupled with better earnings, lifted investor sentiment. Despite the broad-based recovery, market participants are more inclined towards quality large-cap stocks owing to the prevailing valuation gap, which led them to exercise caution on small and mid-caps,” said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

“PSU stocks resumed their ongoing rally after a short pause. Oil & Gas (stocks) posted solid gains due to impressive quarterly results. Domestic equities are taking support from better-than-expected inflation which would keep the trend positive. Nifty is now close to 22k as well as its all-time high, we expect it to surpass these levels and touch new highs,” added Siddhartha Khemka, head (retail research) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Among sectoral indices, oil & gas gained 2.61 per cent, followed by utilities (2.59 per cent), power (1.99 per cent), auto (1.41 per cent) and telecom (1.26 per cent). Healthcare and FMCG indices declined up to 0.89 per cent. BSE smallcap index rose 1.24 per cent while midcap closed with a gain of 0.93 per cent.

M&M was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, rising 6.51 per cent, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, SBI, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Wipro. In contrast, Axis Bank, ITC, HUL, Nestle India and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

Apart from Asian equities, European shares also rose on Thursday, boosted by gains in French stocks and UK’s soft GDP data, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said. According to him, comments by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the disinflation process in the euro zone also lifted the investor sentiment.