Sensex extends gains, up 86 points on bargain hunting

Mumbai: Markets finished higher for the second straight session on Thursday, with benchmark Sensex rising 86 points as investors snapped up recently beaten down counters amid upbeat global cues.

Brokers said a mixed trend at other Asian markets after crude oil prices rebounded from an overnight sell-off and Japan reported stronger-than-expected exports in March bolstered sentiments.

Back home, mid and small-cap stocks attracted value buying after a week-long consolidation, which added to the momentum.

The Sensex opened strong and shuttled between 29,453.06 and 29,341.68, before ending at 29,422.39, a gain of 85.82 points, or 0.29 percent.

The barometer had gained 17.47 points in yesterday's trade.

On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty stayed in the green throughout the session and hit a high of 9,143.90, before closing at 9,136.40, up 32.90 points or 0.36 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 673.38 crore during Wednesday's trading session, as per provisional data.

"Though large-caps remained sluggish, mid and small-caps remained higher after a week-long consolidation attracted value buying.

"IT stocks' recovery amid rupee giving away some of its gains, lent market support, while European markets' rally ahead of French presidential elections also boosted sentiments, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.66 percent, while the Small-Cap index gained 1.14 percent.

IT stocks, that had lost ground on disappointing quarterly earnings, recovered on value-buying at existing lower levels.

Infosys, which lost about 5 percent since the company announced a lower-than-expected revenue guidance, recovered by 0.96 percent to Rs 927.65, while TCS rose 1.16 percent to Rs 2,328.35. Wipro too rose 0.36 percent to Rs 500.

Private sector lender Yes Bank plunged 3.76 percent after it yesterday reported rise in NPA levels for the quarter ended March, even though net profit grew 30.2 percent to Rs 914.12 crore.

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank too were under pressure and lost up to 2.90 percent.

Globally, Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.97 percent, while Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.04 percent. Japan's Nikkei ended a shade lower.

In Europe, France's Paris CAC 40 was up 1.02 percent, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.23 percent. However, London's FTSE was down 0.09 percent in early deals.

Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 scrips ended higher while 9 declined.

Major gainers were Gail (2.02 percent), Adani Ports (1.83 percent), HDFC (1.82 percent), Asian Paints (1.37 percent), Maruti (1.17 percent), TCS (1.16 percent), Lupin (1.15 percent), M&M (1.13 percent), HDFC Bank (1.03 percent), Infosys (0.96 percent), Bajaj Auto (0.70 percent) and HUL (0.65 percent).

However, ICICI Bank fell 2.90 percent, Axis Bank 2.26 percent, Sun Pharma 1.28 percent, Power Grid 1.21 percent, NTPC 0.97 percent, Coal India 0.78 percent and ONGC 0.22 percent.

Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, realty rose 2.14 percent, consumer durables 1.23 percent, IT 0.99 percent, teck 0.96 percent, industrials 0.85 percent, auto 0.70 percent, capital goods 0.69 percent and FMCG 0.55 percent.

However, Bankex fell 0.53 percent, energy 0.30 percent, power 0.17 percent and healthcare 0.14 percent.

The market breadth remained positive as 1,829 stocks ended higher, 1,040 closed lower while 166 ruled steady.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,028.59 crore, higher than Rs 3,364.37 crore registered during the previous session.