Equities move in narrow range, Yes Bank jumps by 13 pc

Equity benchmark indices moved in a narrow range amid cautious mood on Wednesday but traded in the green with an uptick in auto and metal stocks.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 125 points or 0.3 per cent higher at 37,271 while the Nifty 50 moved up by 33 points to 11,036.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were in the green except for Nifty IT which slipped by 1.37 per cent and FMCG which was down by 0.3 per cent.

Nifty realty was up by 4.1 per cent while PSU bank gained by 3.1 per cent. Nifty auto gained by 3.6 per cent, a day after Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will soon respond to the demands of the automobile sector, which is facing the worst slump in more than two decades. Consequently, Nifty metal too was up by 2.3 per cent.

Among stocks, Yes Bank was a star performer clocking gains of 13 per cent to close at Rs 71.30 per share following reports that its shareholding structure may undergo a major churn by the year-end.

Its founder Rana Kapoor has reportedly initiated talks to sell a part of his holding to One97 Communications Ltd, the parent of Paytm and Paytm Payments Bank. Kapoor and his family offices hold 10.6 per cent stake in Yes Bank.

Auto stocks were on a high, hoping for a cut in Goods and Services Tax on vehicles to revive sales during the crucial festive season. Tata Motors accelerated by 10.6 per cent to close at Rs 134.90 per share. Eicher Motors was up by 5.1 per cent, Maruti by 3.8 per cent and Bajaj Auto by 2.8 per cent.

Metal stocks too witnessed handsome gains with JSW Steel edging higher by 3.7 per cent, Tata Steel by 3.6 per cent and Vedanta by 3.3 per cent.

However, IT stocks were in the red with Wipro sliding by 2.9 per cent and HCL Technologies by 2.7 per cent. The other prominent losers were ONGC, GAIL, NTPC, Coal India, Power Grid, Zee Entertainment, and Sun Pharma.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets held firm as hopes of diminishing US-China tensions and reduced risk of no-deal Brexit prompted investors to take profit ahead of key central bank policy meetings around the globe.

Japan's Nikkei rose by 0.96 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng by 1.78 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI Index by 0.84 per cent. But China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.41 per cent lower.