Mumbai:
Equity indices returned to winning ways on Tuesday after a day’s pause, propelled by Bharti Airtel, HUL and Reliance Industries amid a positive trend in global markets.
A sharp appreciation in the rupee — which breached the 73-mark against the US dollar — added to the momentum, traders said.
After a choppy session, the BSE Sensex settled 272.51 points or 0.71 per cent higher at 38,900.80. It hit an intra-day high of 39,226.82 and a low of 38,542.11.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 82.75 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 11,470.25. It touched a high of 11,553.55 and a low of 11,366.90 during the day.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 6.38 per cent, after the Supreme Court granted 10 years to telecom firms for paying the adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues to the government with certain conditions.
Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, NTPC and SBI were among the other gainers.
On the other hand, ONGC, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and ICICI Bank were among the laggards, dropping up to 3.29 per cent.
Meanwhile, India’s manufacturing sector activity re-entered the growth territory in August after four months , driven by a rebound in production volumes and improvement in customer demand following resumption of business operations, a monthly survey showed.
The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 46 in July to 52 in August.
“Indian markets exhibited heightened volatility today following publishing of GDP data and SC ruling in the AGR case for telecom companies. Global cues were positive following Chinese factory data which indicated demand increasing. Liquidity, driven by high FII inflows in August, has provided good support for the markets, in spite of a general concern regarding high valuations in some sectors and stocks.
“The market is expecting a slow uptick in economic activity which has resulted in stock specific moves, where there is earnings visibility. Investors need to be prepared to handle volatility in the near term,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
BSE telecom, metal, power, healthcare, basic materials, capital goods, utilities and FMCG indices surged up to 3.81 per cent, while IT, oil and gas and teck indices ended in the red.
Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose as much as 1.16 per cent.
Global markets perched near all-time highs as positive factory output data from China bolstered investor confidence.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Tokyo was in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were largely positive in early deals.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.13 per cent higher at USD 45.79 per barrel.
In the forex market, the rupee soared 73 paise to close at 72.87 against the US dollar.
