Markets end higher as Reliance, IT stocks gain

Mumbai: Markets ticked higher for the fifth straight session on Wednesday following gains in RIL, banking and IT stocks amid a mixed trend overseas after US President Donald Trump dashed hopes of a pre-election stimulus package.

After opening on a weak note, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained ground to end 304.38 points or 0.77 per cent higher at 39,878.95. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 76.45 points or 0.66 per cent to close at 11,738.85. The Sensex has now gained 1,905.73 points in five sessions, while the Nifty has advanced 516.45 points.

Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Wednesday, climbing 4.44 per cent, after the Tata group firm said its business has been returning to normalcy in the second quarter of this fiscal, led by the jewellery division.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries spurted 2.13 per cent a day after its retail arm raised Rs 5,512.50 crore from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for a 1.20 per cent stake. Bajaj Auto, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, and ONGC were among the other prominent gainers. IT major TCS inched up 0.78 per cent ahead of its quarterly results.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, NTPC and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggards, skidding up to 4.12 per cent.

BSE consumer durables, energy, auto, IT, teck and financial indices rose up to 1.74 per cent, while metal, realty, power, utilities, capital goods and industrials lost as much as 2.97 per cent. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell up to 0.16 per cent.