Indian equity benchmark indices ended marginally higher on Wednesday despite weakness across major Asian markets, as buying in auto, financial and oil & gas stocks helped markets recover from intraday lows.
The BSE Sensex rose 117.54 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 75,318.39, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 41 points, or 0.17 per cent, to close at 23,659.
Sector-wise, the Nifty Oil & Gas index emerged as the top performer, climbing 1.67 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index advanced 0.82 per cent. Realty stocks also witnessed buying interest, with the Nifty Realty index gaining 0.68 per cent.
Banking stocks traded with a positive bias as the Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.50 per cent and the Nifty Private Bank index added 0.27 per cent.
However, some sectors remained under pressure. The Nifty Media index declined 1.43 per cent, while the FMCG and IT indices slipped 0.63 per cent and 0.46 per cent respectively.
The Indian rupee weakened further to hit a record low and was trading at 96.86 against the US dollar at the time of filing the report.
Markets are also awaiting the release of the US Federal Reserve’s April policy minutes for further clarity on the interest rate outlook.
Across Asia, markets largely ended lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.24 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.67 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.87 per cent. Taiwan, Jakarta and Singapore indices also closed in negative territory.
In commodities, Brent crude slipped 1.77 per cent to USD 109.31 per barrel, while gold prices remained largely flat.
