Stock markets eke out gains in highly volatile trade, extend gains to 3rd day

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty settled with marginal gains on Thursday in a highly volatile trade amid the scheduled monthly derivatives expiry and muted trend in the US markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 86.53 points or 0.13 per cent higher at 66,988.44, registering its third day of gains. During the day, it hit a high of 67,069.89 and a low of 66,610.35.

Despite heavy volatility in equities during the day, the combined market valuation of all listed companies on the leading stock exchange BSE continued to remain above the USD 4-trillion mark for the second day in a row. The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the BSE reached the USD 4-trillion milestone for the first time ever on Wednesday.

The broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange edged up 36.55 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 20,133.15.

Bumper stock market debut of Tata Technologies and Gandhar Oil Refinery (India) Ltd also added to the overall optimism in equities.

Among the Sensex firms, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Titan, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the major gainers.

IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and State Bank of India were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled with gains.

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

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.84 per cent to USD 83.80 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 71.91 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 727.71 points or 1.10 per cent to settle at 66,901.91 on Wednesday. The Nifty climbed 206.90 points or 1.04 per cent to reclaim the 20,000-mark after a gap of over two months. It ended at 20,096.60.