Stock markets snap four-day losing streak, Sensex climbs 158 points as IT shares rally

Mumbai, Dec 4 (PTI) Snapping the four-day losing run, benchmark Sensex climbed 158 points and Nifty settled above 26,000 on Thursday following buying in tech and IT shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex edged higher by 158.51 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 85,265.32. During the day, it rose by 380.4 points or 0.44 per cent to 85,487.21.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 47.75 points or 0.18 per cent to 26,033.75. Sensex dropped around 613 points or 0.72 per cent while Nifty shed nearly 230 points or 0.8 per cent in four straight sessions to Wednesday.

Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Bharat Electronics and Trent were the major gainers among Sensex scrips.

However, Maruti, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,206.92 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,730.41 crore, according to exchange data.

"Equity markets traded in a narrow range today as sentiment remained subdued amid persistent weakness in the Indian rupee. With the RBI’s monetary policy decision due on Friday, investors largely opted to stay on the sidelines, leading to a lacklustre trading session and limited directional movement across the indices. The rupee slipped further on Thursday, marking a fresh lifetime low," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.32 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.19 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT jumped 1.41 per cent, followed by IT (1.31 per cent), teck (1.12 per cent), realty (0.53 per cent) and FMCG (0.38 per cent) and auto (0.28 per cent).

Services, consumer discretionary, financial services, Industrials, utilities, capital goods, consumer durables and power were the laggards.

"Domestic markets closed flat amid mixed global cues and caution ahead of the RBI policy. Early value-driven gains were restrained by a record-low rupee and persistent FII outflows. However, lowered expectations of an RBI rate cut supported a mild currency rebound, helping indices stabilise towards the close," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite Index settled lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended in positive territory.

Equity markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended higher on Wednesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.38 per cent to USD 62.91 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the Sensex dipped 31.46 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 85,106.81. The Nifty skidded 46.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 25,986. PTI SUM MR