Sensex, Nifty eke out gains in volatile trade, rise for 6th day

MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty eked out gains in volatile trade on Monday, extending the winning streak to a sixth day even as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the start of quarterly earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended marginally up by 13.54 points or 0.02 per cent to 59,846.51. During the day, it climbed 276.14 points or 0.46 per cent to 60,109.11.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 24.90 points or 0.14 per cent to finish at 17,624.05.

Among the Sensex firms, Tata Motors ended with over 5 per cent gains. Wipro, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies were among the other major winners.

Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Japan ended in the green, while Shanghai settled lower.

The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday. The stock markets in the US were closed on April 7 for Good Friday.

"The positive quarterly business updates from auto and real estate firms caused strong movements in their respective sectors, but the overall mood was slightly dampened by solid US job data, which raised fears of further rate hikes by the Fed.

"The release of inflation data in India and the US, along with the FOMC minutes, have now become crucial in determining the market trend," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Sensex climbed 143.66 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 59,832.97 on Thursday. The Nifty gained 42.10 points or 0.24 per cent to finish at 17,599.15.

Equity markets were closed on April 7 on account of Good Friday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.06 per cent to USD 85.19 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought equities worth Rs 475.81 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.