Markets in narrow range-bound trading

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex advanced 110 points in a choppy trade on Wednesday, extending its gains to the fourth day in a row helped by buying in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and fresh foreign fund inflows. The 30-share barometer rose by 110.58 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 80,956.33 with 14 of its constituents ending with gains and 16 stocks with losses. During the day, it jumped 399.64 points or 0.49 per cent to 81,245.39 and dipped to a low of 80,630.53. The NSE Nifty rose marginally by 10.30 points or 0.04 per cent to 24,467.45 as gains in IT, realty and banking shares were offset by profit-taking in auto and FMCG shares.

The market capitalisation (Mcap) of BSE-listed companies rose by Rs2.14 lakh crore to Rs4,55,66,410.75 cr (Rs455.66 lakh cr or $5.38 trn) “The domestic market maintained a positive trajectory, despite some volatility stemming from mixed sentiments in Asian markets due to the situation in South Korea. Broader indices showed strong performance, with the banking and financial sectors continuing to excel. The upcoming speech by the FED Chair could sway market sentiments, as recent FED minutes have shown confidence in the easing of inflation,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

Analysts said investors exercised caution ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy announcement on Friday. The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.83 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.68 per cent. Among sectoral indices, realty jumped 2.13 per cent, followed by financial services (1.19 per cent), bankex (0.91 per cent), consumer durables (0.69 per cent), industrials (0.59 per cent), capital goods (0.55 per cent), IT (0.52 per cent), Focused IT (0.44 per cent) and healthcare (0.27 per cent).