Markets recoup initial losses to end in green; SBI, Reliance among top gainers

Mumbai, February 14

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty reversed losses and closed higher for the second straight day on Wednesday following buying in energy, metal and utility stocks in the last hour of trade amid positive domestic inflation data.

Sensex rose by 267.64 points or 0.37 per cent to close at 71,822.83 points, extending gains for the second day. The index opened lower and fell further to a low of 70,809.84 points during intra-day trades. Positive inflation data helped the index recover losses and hit a high of 71,938.59 points.

The broader NSE Nifty also gained 96.80 points or 0.45 per cent to end the day at 21,840.05 points. “Nifty opened gap-down tracking the weak US markets. However, strong recovery in the select heavyweights not only pared losses but also helped the index to close around the day’s high,” Ajit Mishra, SVP-Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

State Bank of India was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 4.24 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Maruti, NTPC, PowerGrid, ITC and Nestle India. Reliance Industries jumped 1.15 per cent to end at Rs 2,962.60 apiece on BSE, taking its market valuation to a record of Rs 20 lakh crore. Shares of SBI closed at Rs 743.35 apiece.

In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, TCS, Infosys and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.