Mumbai, April 6 (IANS) Supported by value buying, the Indian equity markets on Wednesday closed flat -- a tad in the green.
According to market analysts, value buying, along with healthy macro-economic data and a rise in crude oil prices, marginally lifted prices during the day's trade.
The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) made marginal gains. It inched up by just 11.15 points or 0.15 percent, to 7,614.35 points.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 24,978.86 points, ended the day's trade at 24,900.63 points -- up a mere 17.04 points or 0.07 percent from the previous close at 24,883.59 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 25,000.65 points and a low of 24,834.16 points during the intra-day trade.
In contrast, the BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of bulls -- with 1,650 advances and 906 declines.
The barometer index had plunged by 516.06 points or 2.03 percent on Tuesday, while the Nifty receded by 156 points or 2.01 percent.
On Wednesday, both the key indices of the Indian equity markets opened on a flat-to-positive note in-sync with their Asian peers.
Further, value buying, after Tuesday's plunge, supported prices.
Besides, healthy macro-economic data on composite PMI (purchasing managers' index) restored investors' risk taking appetite.
In addition, rise in crude oil prices cheered investors.
Even, Tuesday's 25 basis points cut in key lending rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave a positive cue to the equity markets.
The rate cut was announced during the RBI's first bi-monthly monetary policy review for 2016-17.
However, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes expected to be released on late Wednesday evening and the start of the fourth quarter (Q4) results season capped gains.
The FOMC minutes assume significance -- as they can give vital cues to a likely US rate hike. A hike in the US interest rates is expected to lead away Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from emerging markets such as India.
"Value buying after yesterday's correction and a rise in global crude oil prices restored investors' risk taking appetite. Positive PMI data, too, buoyed sentiments," Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
"Stocks failed to gain traction, as global markets remained in a limbo ahead of the FOMC minutes release and the caution ahead of the US earnings."
Vaibhav Agarwal, vice president and research head at Angel Broking, cited: "The earnings season beginning next week would act as a key trigger for the markets going ahead."
Nitasha Shankar, senior vice president for research with YES Securities informed that broader markets, however, regained lost ground and outperformed the headline indices.
"Midcap and smallcap indices ended higher by one percent a piece. Bank index continued to remain under pressure ending in the red," Shankar noted.
"Metal, cements and reality were top gainers followed by media and auto indices."
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers during the day's trade, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks.
The data with stock exchanges showed that FIIs sold stocks worth Rs.493.56 crore, while the DIIs bought stocks worth Rs.258.68 crore.
Sector-wise, healthy buying was witnessed in stocks of metal, capital goods and automobile, whereas scrip of banking, IT (information technology), and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) came under selling pressure.
The S&P BSE metal index increased by 170.03 points, followed by the capital goods index, which gained by 141.19 points; and the automobile index rose by 101.27 points.
However, the S&P BSE banking index receded by 78.25 points, followed by the IT index, which declined by 57.61 points; and the TECK index slipped by 17.72 points.
Major Sensex gainers during the day's trade were Tata Steel, up 5.24 percent at Rs. 328.45; Tata Motors, up 1.81 percent at Rs.377.20; Lupin, up 1.54 percent at Rs. 1,485.55; Bharti Airtel, up 1.30 percent at Rs.334.65; and Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 1.22 percent at Rs.1,209.55.
Major Sensex losers during the day's trade were Axis Bank, down 1.71 percent at Rs.424.85; Infosys, down 1.44 percent at Rs.1,201.10; ICICI Bank, down 1.20 percent at Rs.222.80; Adani Ports, down 1.19 percent at Rs.224.65; and NTPC, down 0.75 percent at Rs.126.05.
