Sensex Holds 29,000 in Steady Trade; RIL Lags

NEW DELHI: The Sensex and Nifty were steady after hitting record highs for a third consecutive sesssion in morning tade on Thursday. The BSE benchmark traded above the 29,000 mark, which the Nifty was also quoting above 8,750.

The 1,000-point rally in the Sensex, from 28,000 to 29,000, took just 2-1/2 months. The Sensex had hit 28,000 on November 5, 2014.

Foreign investors bought equity shares worth Rs 2065.49 crore on Wednesday extending their buying streak to five consecutive sessions. FIIs have now bought equities worth Rs 6,500 crore or over $1 billion in just five days.

The broader markets were in line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.4 per cent to 10,743 and the small-cap index gained 0.5 per cent to 11,483.

From the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma was the top gainer. The stock gained 3.4 per cent at Rs 916. Axis Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, ONGC and Wipro were also among the gainers, up 1-2 per cent each.

On the other hand, Reliance Industries was the top loser, down nearly 2 per cent to Rs 888. The fall in Reliance Industries shaved off 31 points from the Sensex rise.

NTPC, Hindalco, State Bank of India, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC and TCS were also among the losers from the Sensex pack.

Led by buying in FMCG heavyweights like Hindustan Uniliver and ITC, the BSE FMCG index was quoting higher by 1 per cent at 8,164. Healthcare, capital goods, IT and auto stocks were also witnessing buying. While, the BSE Oil & Gas index was down nearly 1 per cent at 9,878.67.

At 11:40 AM, the Sensex was trading higher by 123 points at 29,012. It touched high of 29,060 and low of 28,957 in trades so far.

The Nifty was up 26 points at 8,756. It touched high of 8,772 and low of 8,734.