Markets recover on buying in bank stocks and 'rate cut hopes'

Mumbai, July 15 -- Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty recovered on Wednesday following buying in bank stocks and softer-than-expected US inflation data, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may adopt a less aggressive monetary policy stance in the coming months.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 130.49 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 77,185.43. During the day, it jumped 591.33 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 77,646.27.

The 50-share NSE Nifty went up 26.45 points, or 0.11 per cent, to end at 24,078.50.

Escalating hostilities between the US and Iran, however, kept investors' sentiment subdued in the second half of the trade, triggering profit-taking.

From the Sensex pack, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, InterGlobe Aviation, and Asian Paints were among the major winners. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, and Infosys were among the laggards.

Broader markets advanced, with the BSE MidCap Select index climbing 0.59 per cent and SmallCap Select index going up by 0.42 per cent.

Among sectors, Capital Goods jumped 1.27 per cent, PSU Bank (0.92 per cent), MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (0.83 per cent), Consumer Durables (0.76 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.66 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.63 per cent) and Top 10 Banks (0.55 per cent).

Utilities, FMCG, IT, Metal, Realty and Focused IT were the laggards. A total of 2,297 stocks advanced, while 1,974 declined and 171 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.