Sensex snaps 3-day losing streak

After falling for three days, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose on Wednesday on positive cues from Asian and European markets as well as short-covering by market players before the futures and options (F&O) expiry.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to sell heavily. According to the provisional data from the BSE, FIIs were net sellers of Rs 791.85 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 728.26 crore.

The Sensex gained 98.72 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 14,422.73. The CNX Nifty rose by 45.95 points, or 1.08 per cent, and ended the day at 4,292.95.

“At the beginning of the trading session, indices moved in a narrow range. In the afternoon, there was some buying from insurance companies,” said Anita Gandhi, head (institutional business), Arihant Capital Markets.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 2,668 shares traded, 1,801 advanced and 797 declined on the BSE.

Barring the bankex, which fell by 0.12 per cent, all other indices closed in the green. The power index gained the most at 2.82 per cent, while consumer durables, healthcare and realty indices rose by 2 per cent each.

HDFC Bank was the biggest loser at 2 per cent. Other major losers were HDFC (1.9 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.16 per cent) and Sterlite (1 per cent).

Among the stocks in the Sensex, Jaiprakash Associates zoomed 6 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma (5 per cent), TCS (4.3 per cent) and Tata Motors (4.2 per cent).

Hitesh Agarwal, head of research, Angel Broking, said that going forward there could be some cautious optimism on the part of market players. Though a pre-Budget rally was anticipated, the delay in monsoon could dampen market sentiments.

Asian stock market indices opened on a subdued note but recovered towards the end. The Jakarta Composite zoomed 4.25 per cent and the Taiwan Weighted Index advanced 3 per cent. The Hang Seng closed up 2 per cent.