Domestic markets ended marginally higher on Thursday tracking gains index majors HDFC twins, TCS and ICICI Bank amid largely positive cues from global markets.
The BSE Sensex ended 259.62 points or 0.53 per cent higher at 48,803.68, while the NSE Nifty advanced 76.65 points or 0.53 per cent to 14,581.45.
Gainers of the Sensex pack were led by TCS, rising around 4 per cent, followed by ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC and HCL Tech. On the other hand, Infosys, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
“Domestic equities looked to be resilient amid high volatility. Benchmark indices recovered sharply from today’s low mainly led by rebound in financials and pharma indices,” said Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Auto stocks were worst hit mainly due to wider economic restrictions imposed in Maharashtra, which contributes over 20 per cent of automobiles production of the country, he said, adding that Infosys witnessed heavy profit booking after missing the street’s estimates in 4QFY21 earnings.
However, strong buying was seen in other IT majors due to sustained growth prospects, he noted.
On the broader front, the S&P BSE Midcap and small cap ended with losses at 0.10 and 0.028 per cent down.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Seoul and Tokyo settled with gains.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.63 per cent lower at $66.34 per barrel.