Stock markets edge higher in volatile trade amid weak global cues

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty edged higher on Wednesday after a volatile trade amid weak cues from Asian and European markets along with unabated foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced by 33.21 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 64,975.61. During the day, it hit a high of 65,124 and a low of 64,851.06.

The broader Nifty went up by 36.80 points or 0.19 per cent to close at 19,443.50 with 29 of its components closing in green and the rest 21 in red.

Among the Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.

ICICI Bank, NTPC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower.

European markets were trading in the negative territory. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.15 per cent to USD 81.73 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 497.21 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

"The domestic market traded rangebound with a positive bias. And further confidence may be derived from the global market cues post the FED chair speech. Oil prices continued to fall, which will provide respite to the domestic economy and navigate a downward trajectory to inflation & fiscal," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark dipped 16.29 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 64,942.40 on Tuesday. The Nifty slipped 5.05 points or 0.03 per cent to 19,406.70.