Mumbai, Oct. 24 (IANS): India's benchmark Sensex bucked a 4-day losing streak on Wednesday, taking cues from global peers and relenting international crude oil prices, while the Indian rupee recoved significantly and boosted investor sentiment.
However, the massive outflow of foreign funds witnessed in early October continued as FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) sold stocks worth Rs 2,046.54 crore on Wednesday, the third highest this month.
In the 16 trading session from October 1, foreign investors have sold stocks worth over Rs 22,000 crore, which is at the alrming levels, highest in the previous 12 months.
The provisional data with the exchanges showed domestic institutional investors bought scrip worth Rs 1,873.51 crore.
The Indian rupee recovered over 40 paise to close at Rs 73.15 to a US dollar, from its previous close of 73.57.
Also, the benchmark Brent crude oil price eased to $75.90 a barrel.
The 30-scrip Sensex rose 186.73 points to settle at 34,033.96. The broader Nifty gained 77.95 points to end at 10,224.75.
Healthy buying was witnessed in oil and gas, metals, and finance counters. IT and healthcare stocks were the laggards, as a recovery in the rupee weighed on the export-oriented sectors.
The Sensex swung between a high of 34,300.97 and a low of 33,726.07.
"It was a highly volatile day on the bourses as key benchmark indices oscillated around the flat line for most the trading day. Domestic bourses opened on a firm note on bargain hunting after a prior four-day slide," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
"However, markets were unable to hold on to gains and slipped into negative territory soon after," he added.
According to HDFC Securities' Retail Research Head Deepak Jasani: "Major Asian markets have closed on a mixed note. European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 are trading in the green."
"Sectorally, top gainers were Realty, Metal, FMCG and Media indices. Top loser was Pharma index."
In the broader markets, the S&P BSE Mid-cap gained 0.95 per cent while the S&P BSE Small-cap gained by 0.74 per cent from its previous close. The BSE market breadth was positive with 1,363 advances and 1,203 declines.
"Technically, with the Nifty bouncing back smartly, traders will need to watch if the index can now hold above the immediate supports of 10,126," Jasani said.
"Further upsides are likely once the immediate resistances of 10,289 are taken out," he added.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, up 10.79 per cent at Rs 316.75; Asian Paints, up 4.49 per cent at Rs 1,189.95; IndusInd Bank up 3.21 per cent at Rs 1,520.75; HDFC Bank, up 3.02 per cent at Rs 1,741 and Hindustan Uniliver up 2.06 per cent at Rs 1,585.80.
Major losers included Yes Bank, down 4.52 per cent at Rs 204; Bajaj Auto, down 4.30 per cent at Rs 2,475.30; Adani Ports, down 1.40 per cent at Rs 313.80; NTPC, down 1.18 per cent at Rs 163.35; and Infosys, down 1.17 per cent at Rs 650.15 per share.
