Sensex rises 393 pts, Nifty closes above 19,800 on gains in energy FMCG shares

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex rose by 393 points while Nifty closed above the 19,800 level on Wednesday on buying in energy, FMCG and capital goods shares amid mixed global cues and easing inflation concerns.

Rising for the second straight session, the 30-share Sensex spurted by 393.69 points or 0.6 per cent to close at 66,473.05, with 24 of its constituents ending in the green. Six stocks declined. The broader Nifty of the NSE advanced 121.50 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 19,811.35, as 37 index shares gained while 12 declined and one closed unchanged.

Buying was seen in FMCG, energy, metal, pharma and private bank shares, while most IT shares declined ahead of the announcement of quarterly financial results. Among Sensex stocks, Wipro gained the most by 3.29 per cent. Ultratech Cement, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, NTPC, M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank were among the winners. On the other hand, HCL Tech fell the most by 1.24 per cent. SBI, TCS, Infosys, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel also dropped. "The total market breadth was strong, as investors believe that the Middle East skirmish will be contained within the region and should not impact the crude price," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said. Amid dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve, the US 10-year bond yield traded lower.

"Sequentially, the September India CPI is expected to cool due to ease in food and fuel inflation. And Q2 earning season will kick-start with the IT sector, which has a moderate expectation. However, the broad corporates are expected to provide a bumper result," Nair said. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap rose by 0.55 per cent, while the SmallCap advanced by 0.77 per cent. Market breadth was positive as 2,353 stocks closed with gains, while 1,334 scrips closed in the red and 135 settled unchanged on BSE. Global equity markets were mixed after Wall Street gains following easing pressure from the bond market.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.4 per cent, South Korea's Kospi jumped 2 per cent, and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index edged less than 0.1 per cent lower. European stock markets were trading mostly flat. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,005.49 crore on Tuesday, according to data available with BSE.