Mkts drift higher in lackluster session

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled higher on Thursday, powered by a rally in banking and power stocks amid a largely firm trend in global markets. The stock markets mostly traded range-bound in the absence of any major trigger and persistent foreign capital outflows, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 81,611.41. During the day, it soared 535.74 points, or 0.65 per cent, to hit an intra-day high of 82,002.84. The NSE Nifty climbed 16.50 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 24,998.45. In the intra-day trade, it rose 152.1 points, or 0.60 per cent, to hit a high of 25,134.05.

“The market was trading lacklustre in the absence of any major trigger and continued selling by FIIs. Overall, we expect the market to consolidate in a range with stock-specific action,” Siddhartha Khemka, head (research), Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

In the broader market, while the BSE midcap gauge slipped 0.36 per cent, smallcap index rose 0.43 per cent.

“The market traded on a range-bound trend with a negative bias ahead of the start of Q2 result. The Asian market started well but could not hold on to the gains as European markets waved on a negative trend in anticipation of the key US inflation data, global bond yields are rising,” Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services. Sector-wise, Bankex rose by 1.11 per cent, power (0.75 per cent), Utilities (0.70 per cent), Industrials and financial services went up 0.65 per cent each and Telecommunication (0.41 per cent).

“Asian equities mostly rose on Thursday after US stocks set a fresh high. European shares slipped on Thursday, with technology and mining stocks leading losses, ahead of US inflation data that could show whether the Federal Reserve will opt for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts,” added Deepak Jasani, head (retail research) at HDFC Securities.

On the other hand, healthcare declined 1.39 per cent, IT fell 1.07 per cent, Teck slipped 0.87 per cent, Realty and FMCG decreased 0.42 per cent each, and Consumer Durables went down by 0.42 per cent.s “Indian markets opened higher on Thursday, tracking gains in the US stock market, as the Federal Reserve’s meeting fuelled optimism about potential rate cuts in the US, which could enhance liquidity in emerging markets,” Ameya Ranadive Chartered Market Technician, CFTe, Senior Technical Analyst, StoxBox, said.