Sensex recoups 153 points on global cues, Nifty moves up; Re rebounds from 18-month low, up 12 paise against dollar

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex rebounded about 153 points in opening trade today on fresh buying in IT, tech, capital goods and healthcare counters amid mixed overseas cues. Buying by domestic institutional investors and strengthening rupee also supported the recovery, brokers said. Asian stocks traded mixed amid caution over US-China trade relations. US stocks closed higher yesterday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting reassured investors that the central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates.

The 30-share Sensex rose 152.81 points, or 0.44 percent, to 34,497.72, with sectoral indices IT, tech, capital goods, healthcare, power, consumer durables, bankex and realty advancing by up to 1.77 percent.

The gauge had lost 306.33 points in the previous session. The NSE Nifty also moved up by 38.15 points, or 0.36 percent, to 10,468.50. Major gainers were Infosys, Tata Steel, TCS, HDFC Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Yes Bank, Power Grid, Axis Bank and RIL, gaining up to 2.38 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4416807” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stock broker. Representative image. Reuters[/caption] State-run lender SBI also extended its gaining streak for the third straight session, inching up 0.32 percent to Rs 264.05. However, Tata Motors plunged 4.41 percent after the company yesterday reported a 49.82 percent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,176.16 crore for the March quarter with its British arm JLR continuing to face challenges in the UK and Europe, in addition to one time impairment charge. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 789.78 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 311.11 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.32 percent while Shanghai Composite index was up 0.04 percent in early trade today. However, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.10 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.21 percent higher in yesterday’s trade but geopolitical and trade concerns continued to dent investor sentiment. Rupee rebounds The rupee recovered from a near 18-month low by rising 12 paise to 68.30 against the dollar in opening trade today at the forex market on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. The minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s meeting yesterday appeared to have reassured investors that the central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates, forex dealers said. Besides selling of the American currency by exporters and banks, weakness in the dollar against some other currencies overseas propped the rupee, the said.Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market too influenced the rupee uptrend, they added. Yesterday, the rupee had lost 38 paise to hit a near 18-month low of 68.42 against the US dollar following relentless capital outflows amid concerns over macro conditions and surging crude oil prices.