Equity market gains with Nifty closing over 11,000; rupee recovers from record low
Mumbai, July 20: Hopes of political stability as the current government seemed confident of winning the trust vote in parliament lifted investor sentiments in the Indian equity market.
The Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) reclaimed the psychological level of 11,000 points.
According to market observers, recovery in the Indian rupee after it touched a fresh all-time low of 69.12 per dollar earlier in the day also supported investor sentiments.
Index-wise, the broader Nifty50 of the NSE closed at 11,010.20 points -- higher by 53.10 points or 0.48 per cent -- from its previous close of 10,957.10 points.
The barometer 30-scrip Sensex on the BSE, which had opened at 36,377.03 points, closed at 36,496.37 points -- up by 145.14 points or 0.40 per cent -- from its previous session's close of 36,351.23 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 36,567.34 points and a low of 36,335.61 points during the intra-day trade. The BSE market breadth, however, was tilted towards the bears with 1,437 declines and 1,135 advances.
"Market recouped yesterday's losses supported by recovery in rupee and continuing positive momentum in IT and Pharma stocks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
He further said the earnings season will pick up pace in the coming weeks and as a consenses market is expecting 14.7 per cent earnings growth for Nifty50 index stocks.
HDFC Securities' Head of Retail Research, Deepak Jasani said: "Investors were also awaiting the outcome of a no-confidence motion against the NDA government."
On the currency front, the rupee closed at 68.85, appreciating by 20 paise from Thursday's close of 69.05 per dollar.
Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought scrip worth just Rs 310.27 crore and the domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 50.73 crore.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE IT index gained the most, by 216.77 points, followed by the captial goods index, up 162.36 points and the healthcare rose by 143.15 points.
On the contrary, the S&P BSE auto index declined by 96.19 points, the oil and gas index was down 94.49 points and the metal index fell by 64.93 points.
The major gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma, up 2.72 per cent at Rs 559.90; Infosys, up 2.42 per cent at Rs 1,348.35; Reliance Industries, up 2.23 per cent at Rs 1,128.55; ICICI Bank, up 1.84 per cent at Rs 266; and Axis Bank, up 1.36 per cent at Rs 534.45 per share.
The top losers were Bajaj Auto, down 8.73 per cent at Rs 2,841.10; Vedanta, down 2.74 per cent at Rs 202.60; Hero MotoCorp, down 2.48 per cent at Rs 3,373.15; ONGC, down 2.20 per cent at Rs 157.85; and Kotak Mahindra Bank, down 1.24 per cent at Rs 1,333.45 per share.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
