Sensex rises by 230 pts on gains in Adani stocks, select blue-chips

MUMBAI: Benchmark BSE Sensex climbed 230 points in a volatile session on Wednesday following gains in Adani group stocks and foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share index rose by 230.02 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 80,234.08 as 18 of its shares closed in green and 12 in red. During the day, it surged 507.09 points or 0.63 per cent to 80,511.15.

In a see-saw trade, the NSE Nifty rose by 80.40 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,274.90. The index moved between a high of 24,354.55 and a low of 24,145.65.

Utilities, power, services and capital goods shares advanced while realty and healthcare stocks were the laggards.

Adani group shares led the recovery rising up to nearly 20 per cent after the group clarified that chairman Gautam Adani and his aides have not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. They faced three other charges, including securities and wire fraud that are punishable with monetary fines, the group stated.

Adani Ports & SEZ was the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks, rising by 6 per cent. HDFC Bank rose by 1.43 per cent contributing over 167 points to total Sensex gains.

NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Axis Bank were among the other gainers.

In contrast, Titan, State Bank of India, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equity markets on Tuesday which also bought strengthened the sentiment. FIIs bought equities worth Rs 1,157.70 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

"In Asia, market sentiment was mixed due to the potential tariff impositions by the US. Meanwhile, the Chinese market rebounded on expectations of additional stimulus measures," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the green, while Seoul and Tokyo ended lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.63 per cent to USD 73.23 a barrel.

The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 1.18 per cent and midcap index went up by 0.34 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, BSE utilities soared the most by 3.11 per cent, followed by power (2.74 per cent), services (2.53 per cent), industrials (1.35 per cent), telecommunication (1.17 per cent), capital goods (1.13 per cent) and commodities (1.05 per cent).

Realty and BSE Focused IT were the laggards.

As many as 2,593 stocks advanced while 1,335 declined and 112 remained unchanged on the BSE.