Sensex, Nifty gain over 1% on bargain hunting

Mumbai, Dec 7 (IANS) Bargain hunting by investors after previous two session's losses lifted the key Indian equity indices on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex gaining over 300 points and the NSE Nifty50 closing firmly above the 10,100 level.

According to market observers, robust buying in auto, consumer durables and capital goods stocks lifted the benchmark indices.

On a closing basis, the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) edged higher by 122.60 points or 1.22 per cent to 10,166.70 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed at 32,949.21 points -- up 352.03 points or 1.08 per cent -- from its previous close.

The BSE market breadth was bullish -- 1,860 advances and 818 declines.

"Markets bounced back strongly on Thursday after the sell-off seen in the previous session. Investors seemed to be bargain buying after the recent fall. A sharp fall in oil prices in global commodities market yesterday (Wesdnesday) also boosted market sentiments," Deepak Jasani, Head, Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"Technically, while the Nifty has bounced back smartly, the underlying trend remained down. The Nifty would need to cross the previous intermediate high of 10,410 to reverse the current downtrend," he added.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed higher by 1.38 per cent and the small-cap index by 1.29 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: "Market smartly recouped from the yesterday's losses which were triggered by Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) hawkish policy and weakness in global market. However, RBI reiterating an economic growth of 6.7 per cent for FY18 uplifted the sentiment.

"Upcoming state election in Gujarat and rupee movement against dollar ahead of US tax reform will be keenly watched for further momentum in the market."

On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 4-5 paise at 64.57-56 against the US dollar from its previous close at 64.52.

All the 19 sub-indices of the BSE ended in the positive territory, led by the S&P BSE consumer durables index, which augmented by 523.55 points, followed by auto index by 488.19 points and capital goods index by 378.66 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: Bharti Airtel, up 6.08 per cent at Rs 513.35; Asian Paints, up 3.29 per cent at Rs 1,140.50; Maruti Suzuki, up 3.26 per cent at Rs 8,881.10; Tata Steel, up 2.97 per cent at Rs 687.90; and Bajaj Auto, up 2.78 per cent at Rs 3,195.

Major Sensex losers were: Coal India, down 0.64 per cent at Rs 263.30; Tata Consultancy Services, down 0.52 per cent at Rs 2617.65; Cipla, down 0.50 per cent at Rs 592.50; Wipro, down 0.34 per cent at Rs 281.35; and Sun Pharma, down 0.26 per cent at Rs 510.20.