Mumbai:India’s key indicesended higher on Thursday, but gains were muted as investors awaited fresh triggers amid mixed global cues and concerns over slowing earnings. TheNiftyreclaimed the 25,000 mark – for the first time in three weeks – extending gains for the seventh consecutive day, while the Sensex stretched its winning run for the fourth straight day.
NSE’s Nifty rose 32.4 points, or 0.1%, to close at 25,005.5. BSE’s Sensex gained 123.58 points, or 0.1%, to end at 81,548.73.
“The Nifty is expected to move in the 24,500-25,600 range, with no clear direction until a trade deal between the US and India is finalised or other positive triggers emerge,” said Apurva Sheth, head of research at Samco Securities. “As long as Nifty can hold above the 24,500 level, sentiment is likely to remain positive.”
Nifty’s Volatility Index, or VIX, fell 1.7% to 10.36 levels, with options seeing a lesser likelihood of sharp swings in the market. The volatility index is down over 15% in the past month.
AgenciesIn the broader market, both Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Small-cap 250 ended the day flat. Out of the total 4,281 stocks traded on BSE, 2019 advanced and 2103 declined on Thursday.
Foreign portfolio investorsnet sold shares worth ₹3,472 crore, while domestic institutions were buyers worth ₹4,046 crore.
Nifty’s Oil & Gas index was the top sectoral gainer of the day, up 1.1%, followed by media and PSU Bank indices.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan gained 1.2%, China advanced 1.65%, Hong Kong fell 0.4%, South Korea gained 0.9%, and Taiwan rose 0.1%. The pan-Europe index Stoxx 600 was up 0.4% at the time of going to print.
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