Banks lead recovery for 2nd session

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex recouped its early losses to close higher by nearly 364 points on Tuesday, extending gains to the second day on the back of late buying in banking and oil shares. The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 363.99 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at 80,369.03 with 16 of its components ending higher and 14 closing lower. The index opened lower and fell by 583.69 points to 79,421.35 in late morning deals. However, buying in banking, financial and oil shares in the second half helped recoup losses and close the day higher. The index hit a high of 80,450.48 in day trade. The NSE Nifty rose 127.70 points or 0.52 per cent to 24,466.85.

“Nifty extended its recovery for a second consecutive session on Tuesday rebounding well from morning lows. Banks (including PSU Banks) did well for the second consecutive session,” Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.74 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.71 per cent.

“The Nifty started on a negative note, but resilience in select heavyweights, particularly in the banking sector, spurred a steady rebound as the session advanced,” Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Firm global trends and unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) helped in the rebound, traders said. From the 30 Sensex pack, State Bank of India jumped 5 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro. In contrast, Maruti, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.

Among sectoral indices, bankex jumped 2.20 per cent, financial services (2 per cent), realty (1.46 per cent), capital goods (1.28 per cent) and utilities (1.26 per cent). Consumer Discretionary, telecommunication, IT and teck were the laggards. A total of 2,242 stocks advanced while 1,623 declined and 126 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,228.08 crore on Monday, while DIIs bought equities worth Rs 1,400.85 crore, according to exchange data. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the green while Shanghai ended lower. European markets were trading higher. The US markets ended in positive territory on Monday.