Stock Market: Sensex Gains 235 Points, Nifty Ends Above 17,800. Pharma, IT, And Auto Stocks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, TechM, HDFC, TCS were among the winners. PowerGrid, Nestle, NTPC, UltraCemco, SBI, HUL emerged losers

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap indices gained 0.50 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively.

Source : Getty

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday closed in the green after erasing opening losses and extended rally for the eighth straight session, ahead of March CPI inflation data. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 60,393, up 235 points (0.39 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 index shut shop at 17,812, up 90 points (0.5 per cent).

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, TechM, HDFC, TCS were among the winners. On the flip side, PowerGrid, Nestle, NTPC, UltraCemco, SBI, HUL emerged losers.   

#ABPLiveStockMarketWatch | Indian equity benchmarks on Wednesday closed in the green ahead of March inflation data

At 03:30 PM, #Sensex gains 235 points to 60,393 & #Nifty up 90 points to close at 17,812

Here's a look at the stocks in focus:#ClosingBell #ABPLive #MarketWatch pic.twitter.com/Hu4iRbehuv

— ABP LIVE (@abplive) April 12, 2023

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap indices gained 0.50 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively.

Among sectors, the Nifty Pharma index leaped over 2 per cent today as India saw over 7,000 fresh cases of Covid-19. Within the lot, Divis Labs surged 9,65 per cent, Laurus Labs 7 per cent, Aurobindo Pharma 3.5 per cent, and Biocon 3 per cent.  Nifty IT, and Auto indices were other top gainers as they advanced around 1 per cent each. 

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 311 points to 61,152. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty went up by 98 points 17,722.

"The domestic market exhibited cautiousness in anticipation of the release of various economic data and the upcoming Q4 earnings season. The IT sector drove the optimism in the market as investors await the earnings releases of sector majors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, and Shanghai ended in the green, while Hong Kong settled lower. Equity markets in Europe were also trading with gains during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended mostly lower in overnight trade on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 342.84 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.32 per cent to $85.88 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day 3 paise higher at 82.09 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as participants remained on the sidelines ahead of the release of the retail inflation data.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.08 against the US currency and finally closed at 82.09 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 3 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched a high of 82.01 and a low of 82.11 against the dollar. On Tuesday, the rupee closed at 82.12 against the US currency. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.15 per cent to 102.04.