Sensex halts 5-day slide in volatile trade

Reversing a five-session slide, benchmark Sensex rose over 35 points to end at 34,651.24 in see-saw trade today as participants accumulated recently beaten down auto, metal, banking and realty stocks.

Asian markets ended mixed following a good show by US stocks as investors applauded easing of trade tensions between the US and China.

The 30-share Sensex opened in the green and hit a high of 34,754.60, but witnessed bouts of volatility. It finally settled at 34,651.24, showing a gain of 35.11 points, or 0.10 per cent.

The index had lost 940.58 points in the previous five sessions as investors rushed to unwind bets following post-poll instability in Karnataka amid discouraging global cues.

The broader NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,558.60 and 10,490.55, finished the day at 10,536.70, showing a gain of 20 points, or 0.19 per cent.

SBI rose 3.69 per cent despite the lender today posting a standalone net loss of Rs 7,718 cr in Q4 on mounting bad loans.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 1,190.56 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 496.03 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.