Equity benchmarks end with marginal gains as investors watch IT bellwethers' Q3 show

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices ended marginally higher on Thursday, trimming most of their intra-day gains, as investors remained concerned over the quarterly results of IT behemoths TCS and Infosys.

Awaited announcements of the US inflation data on Thursday and domestic macroeconomic numbers on Friday also forced investors to stay on the sidelines.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 63.47 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 71,721.18. During the day, it jumped 341.76 points or 0.47 per cent to 71,999.47.

The Nifty gained 28.50 points or 0.13 per cent to 21,647.20.

Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services were the major gainers.

Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro and Nestle were among the laggards.

"Global equities largely rose as investors awaited the US inflation data that will help clarify the path for Federal Reserve policy," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.79 per cent and midcap index jumped 0.66 per cent.

Among the indices, energy jumped 1.57 per cent, oil & gas rallied 1.05 per cent, consumer durables (0.89 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.71 per cent).

Industrials, IT, services, realty and capital goods were among the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmarks in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled with gains while Seoul ended lower.

European markets were trading higher. The US markets ended in positive territory on Wednesday.

"In anticipation of inflation data from the US, the Indian market exhibited range-bound trade. Though investors anticipate US inflation to ease, global markets, expecting a CY24 interest rate cut, have already priced in optimism. Profit booking occurred amid moderating Q3 corporate earnings and concerns about premium valuations," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.56 per cent to USD 78 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,721.35 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark ended 271.50 points or 0.38 per cent higher at 71,657.71 on Wednesday. The Nifty advanced 73.85 points or 0.34 per cent to 21,618.70.