D-St indices rise on strong earnings cues, war respite

Mumbai: Strong domestic earnings cues and relative peace in West Asia led to a 0.8% climb in India's key equity indices Wednesday, overriding elevated crude oil prices.

NSE's Nifty rose 181.95 points, or 0.8%, to close at 24,177.65. BSE's Sensex rose 609.45 points, or 0.8%, to end at 77,496.36.

Both indices had gained as much as 1.4% on Wednesday.


"Despite crude prices remaining elevated near $115 on Wednesday, markets traded higher, supported by strong earnings from index heavyweights," said Gaurav Sharma, head of research, Globe Capital Market. "However, Nifty could drift toward its support zone of 23,800-23,900 Thursday, especially with Friday being a holiday."

Heavyweights like ITC, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel surged between 2.3% and 3.8% on Wednesday, taking the index higher.

Analysts said some profit taking was also seen ahead of the end of the truncated week, as equity markets will remain shut Friday on account of Maharashtra Day.

Nifty's Volatility Index, or VIX, fell 3.4% to 17.4 levels at close, indicating some relief among market participants.

Dharmesh Shah, head of technicals at ICICI Securities said Nifty will continue to consolidate within the 23,600-24,500 range.

" A cool-off in oil prices would be a key positive for India, and a sustained move above 24,500 could pave the way for Nifty to approach the 25,000 mark," he said.

Broad market indices underperformed the benchmark, as Nifty Midcap 150 ended flat while the Nifty Small-cap 250 rose 0.5%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan dropped 0.6%, while China advanced 0.7%, Hong Kong rose 1.7%, and South Korea gained 0.8%.