Sensex, Nifty Edge Higher; Bharti Airtel, NTPC Top Gainers

NDTV Profit Team

22 Mar 2019, 10:36 AM IST

Fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher.

As of 9:23 am, the Sensex traded 0.21 per cent or 79 points higher at 38,466 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 0.29 per cent or 34 points to 11,555.
Gains were capped as ONGC, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Technologies came under selling pressure.
Fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE Telecom Index's 1.9 per cent gain. S&P BSE Capital Goods, S&P BSE Power and S&P BSE Utilities Indexes also rose between 0.9 and 1.3 per cent each.
On the flipside, S&P BSE Information Technology Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.51 per cent tracking strength in the rupee against the US dollar. Energy and oil & gas indexes were also trading lower.
The rupee rose 0.35 per cent or 24 paise to 68.60 against the US dollar.
Mid- and small-cap shares were witnessing buying interest as the S&P BSE MidCap Index rose 0.53 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index advanced 0.37 per cent.
In the Nifty 50 basket of shares, 34 were advancing while 16 were declining. Bharti Airtel was top gainer in the Nifty 50 basket of shares. The stock rose 3 per cent to Rs 344. Larsen & Toubro, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Yes Bank, Titan, NTPC and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.
On the other hand, Zee Entertainment, ONGC, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,017 shares were advancing while 643 were declining on the BSE.
The foreign institutional investors continue to buy shares in Indian equity markets. In Wednesday's session alone the foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 1,771.61 crore, according to National Stock Exchange.