Stock Market Pares Gains: Sensex Climbs 165 Points, Nifty Settles Above 19,400. IT Leads, PSU Banks Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, TechM, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Wipro were among the gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday saw a range-bound trading, with the key indices scaling record peaks led by strong gains in IT shares following TCS Q1 results. However, the indices pared gains towards the end of the trading session due to heavy selling pressure, mainly in banking stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit a fresh high at 66,064, dropped to a low of 65,452. Eventually, the Sensex closed 165 points higher at 65,559. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 scaled a record high at 19,567, while it ended with a modest gain of 29 points at 19,414.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, TechM, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Wipro were among the gainers. On the downside, PowerGrid, Maruti, NTPC, Reliance, HUL, Nestle emerged losers.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down 0.5 per cent each.

Sectorally, stocks in auto, capital goods, FMCG, healthcare, oil & gas and power sectors witnessed selling pressure, while bank, metal, realty, and information technology indices gained. The Nifty PSU Bank index cracked 2.5 per cent, while the IT index jumped 1.8 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled with a loss of 224 points at 65,394, while the NSE Nifty closed 55 points lower at 19,384.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading with gains. The US markets ended in positive territory on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.27 per cent to $80.33 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,242.44 crore on Wednesday after unabated buying, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened further by 10 paise to close at 82.08 against the US dollar on Thursday, marking its fourth straight session of gain following a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak greenback against major crosses overseas. However, strengthening crude prices in the international market restricted the upside move in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened sharply up at 81.98 against the US dollar. It lost some ground later to settle at 82.08 (provisional), up by 10 paise over the previous close.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.95 and a low of 82.14. This is the fourth straight day of rise for the rupee, during which it has gained 53 paise. On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 82.18 against the dollar.