Sensex rallies for 3rd day to regain 77,000-mark; Nifty climbs 108.65 points
Mumbai, Apr 16 (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher for the third straight day on Wednesday following buying in banking stocks and fresh foreign fund inflows as retail inflation slipping to near six-year lows raised hopes of further rate cuts.
Defying a weak global market trend, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 309.40 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at a two-week high of 77,044.29 in a volatile session. After a weak start, the index moved between gains and losses during the session. It hit a high of 77,110.23 and a low of 76,543.77, gyrating 566.46 points.
The NSE Nifty rallied 108.65 points or 0.47 per cent to 23,437.20.
Positive macro data and forecast of normal monsoon boosted investor sentiment, analysts said.
IndusInd Bank rose the most by 7.12 per cent amonf Sensex shares. The bank stated that external agency PwC has assessed a negative impact of Rs 1,979 crore on the bank's networth due to accounting lapses in the derivatives portfolio.
Axis Bank jumped 4.26 per cent while Adani Ports rose by 1.81 per cent. Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India and ITC were among the gainers.
Maruti was the biggest loser, falling by 1.51 per cent. Infosys, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers after days of selling as they bought equities worth Rs 6,065.78 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
"Globally, markets are undergoing fresh consolidation as tariff tensions intensify... Amidst global weakness, the Indian market exhibited a mild positive sentiment in anticipation that the trade fight between the US & China will not harm but benefit India, and March's CPI inflation which is at a nearly 6-year low is indicative of further rate cuts in the near future," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Domestically, the Q4 FY25 earnings season has started on a weak note. Overall expectations remain subdued, suggesting potential profit booking at higher levels, Nair added.
The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.91 per cent and midcap index rallied 0.62 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas climbed the most by 1.78 per cent, followed by bankex (1.45 per cent), energy (1.25 per cent), telecommunication (1.08 per cent), financial services (1.07 per cent) and services (0.73 per cent).
IT, auto, capital goods and BSE Focused IT were the laggards.
As many as 2,636 stocks advanced while 1,309 declined and 133 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"Participants responded positively to favourable cues, including the update on a normal monsoon, further easing of retail inflation, and, importantly, the absence of any negative surprises from global markets. Notably, the sustained strength in banking and financial stocks, along with rotational buying in other sectoral heavyweights, played a significant role in driving the momentum," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
In the borader market, shares of Gensol Engineering tumbled 5 per cent to hit the lower circuit limit after Sebi barred the firm and its promoters -- Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi -- from securities markets till further orders in a fund diversion and governance lapses case.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower. Shanghai SSE Composite index ended higher. European markets were quoting lower. US markets ended in the negative territory on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.91 per cent to USD 65.22 a barrel.
Rallying for the second straight session on Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 1,577.63 points or 2.10 per cent to settle at 76,734.89. The Nifty surged 500 points or 2.19 per cent to 23,328.55.
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Over 350 illegal religious structures removed along Nepal border
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.
Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.
The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.
The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.
On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.
One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.
In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.
After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.
In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.
In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.
The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.
In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.
Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.
The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.
According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.
On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.
Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.
