Share market today: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed in the green amid buying across sectors, barring IT and power. The BSE benchmark index closed at 81,053, rising 148 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 24,812, up 41 points.


Stock update


On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Titan, Asian Paints, UltraCemco emerged gainers. On the down side, Tata Motors, M&M, NTPC, TCS, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma were among the losers.


In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index advanced 0.67 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap gained 0.47 per cent.


Sectoral update


Sectorwise, Nifty IT sank 0.16 per cent, followed by the Nifty Pharma falling 0.14 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Metal index jumped 0.67 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.67 per cent, while Nifty Realty gained 0.47 per cent.   


In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex gained 102 points to 80,905, while the NSE Nifty50 advanced 71 points to 24,770.


"Markets are closely monitoring global indices for direction, and the recent pause in US markets ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium is leading to some caution locally also," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.


Global update


In Asian markets, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong closed with gains, while Shanghai ended in the negative territory on Thursday. European markets were trading with significant gains in the mid-session deals. The US stock markets gained in overnight trade on Wednesday.


Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) again turned sellers on Wednesday as they offloaded equities worth Rs 799.74 crore, according to exchange data.


Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.21 per cent to $76.21 a barrel.


Rupee dips 4 paise


The rupee traded in a narrow range and settled lower by 4 paise at 83.94 (provisional) against the American currency on Thursday, as relentless dollar demand from importers and relentless foreign fund outflows dampened investor sentiments. However, a positive trend in domestic equities and lower global crude oil prices supported the domestic currency and restricted its fall, forex traders said.


At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 83.93 and touched an intraday low of 83.97 against the US dollar.


The domestic currency finally settled at 83.94 (provisional), 4 paise lower from its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee fell 13 paise to 83.90 against the US dollar.