Sensex, Nifty edge up on gains in financials shares amid weak global trends; end 4-day losing streak

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally up in highly volatile trade on Monday, snapping their four-day losing streak even as weak global trends and foreign fund outflows dented the investor sentiment.

After gyrating 461.6 points during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex eked out a marginal gain of 14.54 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 66,023.69. During the day, it hit a high of 66,225.63 and a low of 65,764.03.

Snapping its four-day losing streak, the broader Nifty settled marginally up 0.30 points at 19,674.55 as 24 of its components advanced while 26 declined. Gains in financials, consumer durables, realty and banking shares were offset by losses in IT, oil & gas and pharma shares.

In the four sessions to Friday, the 50-issue barometer declined 3.37 per cent or 518 points while Sensex plunged 1,829 points or 3 per cent following a record 11-day rally.

Analysts said a fresh uptick in US treasury yields is making investors jittery amid rising concerns over inflation and high interest rates while FIIs continue to offload shares in local equities.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance jumped the most by 4.64 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, NTPC, JSW Steel and Tata Steel were among the major gainers.

Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, IndusInd Bank and HCL Technologies were the major laggards.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "The day presented a mixed picture in the market, with sectors such as realty, banking, and consumer durables performing well while IT and pharma struggling. Investors were actively repositioning, shifting away from stocks tied to the global economy and focusing on the domestic economy." Concerns loomed over a potential global economic slowdown due to the prolonged period of high-interest rates, Nair added.

Analysts also said that India's entry into JP Morgan's Emerging Markets Government Bond Index is benefiting the financial sector in anticipation of a reduction in funding cost.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.46 per cent and smallcap index advanced 0.12 per cent.

Among the indices, realty jumped 1.56 per cent, financial services climbed 0.46 per cent, consumer durables (0.43 per cent), bankex (0.29 per cent) and commodities (0.23 per cent).

Industrials, IT, telecommunication, auto, capital goods and teck were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the negative territory while Tokyo settled in the green. European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.39 per cent to USD 93.63 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,326.74 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. FIIs have pulled out over Rs 10,000 crore from Indian equities in the first three weeks of September.