Sensex Edges Higher, TCS Shares Gain For Third Day

Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher today, aided by gains in IT, pharma and oil & gas stocks. However, selling pressure in some metal, FMCG and capital goods stocks capped gains. The BSE benchmark index Sensex ended 35 points higher at 34,450 while the NSE Nifty edged higher by 20 points to settle at 10,584. Shares of TCS, India's biggest software services exporter, climbed as much as 4.6 per cent to a record high of Rs 3,557, after the company posted its biggest-ever quarterly profit last week. In this process, TCS also became the first Indian IT company to hit $100 in market capitalisation.

"It's great news not just for TCS, even for the Indian equity market as a whole," said Urmil Shah, an analyst at IDBI Capital. "TCS has done most of the things right over a long-term ... a stable management, adapted to industry changes better and invested in it at the right time."

TCS shares however could not sustain the gains. It ended 0.25 per cent higher at Rs 3,415.

Market heavyweights Reliance Industries, Wipro Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd are expected to report earnings for the January-March quarter this week.

HDFC Bank Ltd posted a record profit for the March quarter, but its bad loans rose. Shares of the bank closed 1.4 per cent lower.

Most of the Asian markets ended lower today after a spike in US bond yields. The European markets were also lower in early trade.

The rupee extended its recent fall and edged closer to the 66.50 mark today against the US dollar. The gains in the broader markets were however strong, with BSE midcap and smallcap indices rising 0.50 per cent each.