New Delhi:
SE benchmark Sensex ended on a higher note by 212.74 points at 36,469.43 while the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 10,800 mark on Thursday and ended 62.70 points more at 10,893.65. Trading sentiment received a boost as global markets rallied following US Federal Reserve’s dovish policy stance. After rallying over 500 points to hit the day’s high of 36,778.14, the 30-share index gave up all gains and sank to 36,221.32 in late-afternoon trade. It finally ended 212.74 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 36,469.43.
Heavy short-covering on expiry of January series futures and options (F&O) contracts too buoyed the benchmarks, analysts said. The 30-share Sensex rallied 665.44 points, or 1.87 per cent, to close at 36,256.69. The broader Nifty soared 179.15 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 10,830.95. All BSE sectoral indices finished in the green, led by IT, energy and banking.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal proposed to double the threshold tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh and increased the standard deduction to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000. The proposal will benefit 3 crore middle-class tax payers, Goyal said while unveiling the budget proposals for 2019-20.
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“It was mainly propelled by two important factors. The first being the moderation in the monetary policy stance of the Fed, as the key Fed funds rate was left unchanged. The status quo, in the midst of looming fears over an impending economic slowdown, and also as the probability of future hikes may be far and few, catapulted the markets to higher levels.
“The second one being high expectations from the interim Budget by way of measures that would alleviate the agrarian distress and boost the employment and consumption levels,” he said.
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 130.25 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 502.26 crore, provisional data available with the BSE showed.
In the Sensex pack, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Infosys, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, Bajaj Auto, SBI, HUL, Tata Steel, Vedanta, HFDC, TCS, ITC and Sun Pharma jumped up to 4.64 per cent.
On the other hand, Yes Bank, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, and Coal India fell up to 2.56 per cent.
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Global investors were also optimistic about the ongoing two-day high-level talks between the US and China aimed at settling their six-month trade war. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared 1.08 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.06 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.35 per cent. Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.06 per cent.
Vedanta was the biggest loser on the Sensex, cracking 17.82 per cent after the metals and mining giant Thursday reported a 25.54 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,574 crore for the December 2018 quarter on the back of higher expenses and drop in commodity prices.
(With inputs from PTI)
