Sensex, Nifty close higher amid buying in heavyweight stocks, firm global cues

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled higher on Thursday due to gains in banking, power and industrial stocks amid a firm trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 81,611.41. During the day, it soared 535.74 points, or 0.65 per cent, to hit an intra-day high of 82,002.84.

The NSE Nifty increased 16.50 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 24,998.45.

In the intra-day trade, it rose 152.1 points, or 0.60 per cent, to hit a high of 25,134.05.

"The market traded on a range bound trend with a negative bias ahead of the start of Q2 result.

"The Asian market started well but could not hold on to the gains as European markets waved on a negative trend in anticipation of the key US inflation data, global bond yields are rising," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

From the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, NTPC, Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Infosys, Titan, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.

Domestic broader market momentum was mixed with caution as the initial expectation of Q2FY25 results is subdued due to a subpar momentum in the global and rural demand, Nair added.

Shares of Tata Group companies on Thursday rose up to 15 per cent, with Tata Investment Corporation, Tata Chemicals, and Tata Teleservices among the major gainers.

Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, who played a key role in transforming the group into a global conglomerate, passed away late on Wednesday. He was 86.

European markets were trading lower in the mid-session deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent Crude climbed 1.37 per cent to USD 77.63 a barrel in futures trade.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were closed higher.

US markets ended with gains on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,562.71 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,508.61 crore, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 167.71 points to close at 81,467.1 while the NSE Nifty dropped 31.20 points to end at 24,981.95.