Mumbai, May 13 -- Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Wednesday, snapping their four-session losing streak, following bargain hunting in metal, energy, and consumption stocks amid a largely supportive trend overseas.

However, the rupee hitting a fresh record low and unrelenting foreign fund outflows amid elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainties capped the gains, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 49.74 points, or 0.07 per cent, to settle at 74,608.98. During the day, the index touched a high of 75,191.57 and a low of 74,134.48, gyrating 1,057.09 points.

The 50-share NSE edged higher by 33.05 points or 0.14 per cent to end at 23,412.60.

From the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel and Larsen & Toubro were among the winners. Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra were among the biggest laggards.

The BSE MidCap Select index climbed 0.90 per cent, and the SmallCap Select index edged higher by 0.41 per cent.

"Markets witnessed a volatile yet relatively stable session on Wednesday following the sharp sell-off seen over the previous four trading sessions. Sectoral participation remained mixed, with metals, energy, and FMCG stocks showing relative resilience, while IT and auto counters continued to witness pressure," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.5 per cent to USD 107.27 per barrel.

FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 1,959.39 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee on Wednesday slipped to an all-time low of 95.80 against the US dollar, and settled at 95.66 near its record closing low level, as the cumulative strain of elevated crude prices and West Asia geopolitical concerns offset hopes of lower demand for the US dollar due to import curbs.

Forex traders said possible RBI intervention and duty-led compression of gold imports helped moderate further weakness for the USD/INR pair, but the rupee was pressured by the trajectory of crude and the West Asia situation.

The rupee has become the worst-performing currency in Asia for the year, registering a loss of over 6 per cent so far this year, as elevated crude oil prices, a strong dollar and concerns regarding the West Asia crisis weighed on investor sentiments, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.52, registering a gain of 16 paise from its previous all-time closing low.

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