Nifty, Sensex close up for 2nd day, banks cheer

NEW DELHI: Riding on the back of gains in bank stocks and heavyweight Reliance Industries, domestic indices settled higher for the second day on Thursday.

Optimism in Asia rubbed off on Indian equities, too. But what held back the market from going higher was losses in IT stocks, including Infosys.

The government's recapitalisation move for banks also kept the morale high.

The 30-share Sensex settled higher by 142 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 35,898, with 18 stocks in the green and 12 in the red.

The broader NSE Nifty closed just shy of the crucial 10,800-mark at 10,790, up 54 points, or 0.51 per cent. On the 50-scrip index, 36 rose while 14 fell.


Market at a glance

Tata Motors was the big Sensex hitter, with gains of 2.94 per cent, followed by Vedanta, ONGC, Bajaj Finance and Vedanta. YES Bank was the worst hit, down 1.33 per cent. Infosys, Maruti, Coal India and IndusInd Bank were among those that bled.

Barring IT and technology, all sectoral indices scored. Basic Materials, metals and consumer durables were the lead gainers, rising over 1 per cent each.

Midcaps and smallcaps left the benchmark Sensex behind. While the BSE Midcap index rose 0.88 per cent, BSE Smallcap went up 1.07 per cent.

Shares of Reliance Nippon Asset Life Management (RNAM) surged by 19.98 per cent to Rs 187.05 after Reliance Capital said it has invited Nippon Life Insurance to acquire up to 42.88 per cent, which is its entire stake, in RNAM.


So, what factors were at play?

• World stocks lend support

Signs the United States and China were tackling some of the stickiest issues in their trade war kept world shares near a four-month high, though it could not prevent a favourite Chinese proxy, the Aussie dollar, hitting the skids, as per Reuters.

• Fed minutes cheer investors

Federal Reserve minutes of the January meeting affirmed that the central bank would be "patient" on further interest rate rises as the economy remained fundamentally strong. This cheered investors the world over.

Expert-take

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Market extended gains as investors sentiment has been boosted owing to recapitalisation of PSU banks and Fed's affirmation of slow pace in rate hikes. Accumulation is seen on heavyweights after recent fall while mid and small cap outperformed. Undercurrent in the market is yet to stabilise due to caution on global trade and growth while falling interest rates and reforms by government will give impetus to consumption led stocks.