Indian benchmark equity indices started on a positive note on Wednesday, rebounding from Tuesday’s sharp losses, as macro concerns eased after global crude oil prices fell 6 percent. Trade sentiment improved after Riyadh on Tuesday said it has managed to restore half of the over 5 million barrels per day of capacity affected by the drone strikes over the weekend. Saudi Arabia expects the pre-attack levels to be restored by September end.
The BSE Sensex jumped over 200 points, or 0.56 percent, to 36687 in the initial trade. The NSE Nifty50 also gained 60 points, or 0.55 percent, to 10,877.50.
Broader market indices also gained with the Nifty MidCap index outperforming frontline peer, rising 0.74 percent. The banking gauge, Nifty Bank, rose 0.68 percent, while IT, finance, pharma, FMCG and auto were the other notable sectors that advanced in the early trade.
Among gainers, downstream oil companies gained as Brent crude oil prices slipped 6 percent from the recent high of $71/bbl. Indian Oil Corp, BPCL and HPCL moved between 2 and 3.5 percent.
Yes Bank, JSW Steel and Hero MotoCorp were other major gainers, rising between 1 and 2 percent. Britannia, Infosys, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs and HCL Technologies declined by up to 3 percent.
Britannia declined 2.80 percent after global brokerage Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to neutral. Also, CNBC-TV18 reported that the fitment committee is not in favour of reducing the GST rate for biscuits.
Bajaj Auto shares gained 1.4 percent after the home-grown auto major reportedly increased the price of its motorcycles by up to 5 percent. Bajaj Finance shares also gained as the consumer finance company's board approved raising up to Rs 8500 crore via qualified institutional placement.
Index heavyweight oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries gained over a percent after a promoter entity bought 2.71 percent stake in the company. The company's promoters now own 48.87 percent stake in the country's second-highest valued company.
Balmer Lawrie shares fell 5.6 percent as the company's board deferred bonus issue.
The rupee opened higher at 71.49 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The home currency had closed at 71.78 against the greenback on Tuesday.
In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds declined 0.95 percent at 6.67 percent from the previous close of 6.73 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, foreign investors continued with their equity selling spree in the Indian market. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 808.29 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.
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