Sensex Finishes Slightly Higher

India’s BSE Sensex managed to close about 0.2% up at 78,080 after a choppy session on Thursday, reversing two days of losses, helped by falling oil prices and a positive earnings season. The market also drew support from easing expectations of near-term Fed rate hikes, while lingering Middle East uncertainty kept gains in check. Buying in select heavyweight stocks and broader market segments helped offset weakness in financial, metal and energy stocks. Among single stocks, IndiGo was the top gainer, rising 2.9%, followed by NTPC (2%), BEL (2%) and L&T (2%). At the same time, Tata Group shares saw some stabilization after a heavy sellof on Wednesday following the surprise N.Chandrasekaran's decision to resign. On the losing side, ICICI Bank declined 1.3%, making it the biggest laggard.Titan shed 1.1%%, while Reliance Industries slipped 0.8%. UltraTech Cement fell 0.7% following a block transaction involving 2.51 million shares, representing 0.86% of total equitity of the cement major.

The SENSEX Index rose 114 points or 0.15 percent on Thursday to close at 78080 points. Leading the gains are Tata Motors (1.82%), Eternal Limited (1.76%) and Hindustan Unilever (1.21%). Top losers were UltraTech Cement (-1.74%), ICICI Bank (-1.48%) and Tata Steel (-1.33%).

India’s BSE Sensex fell about 0.2% to 77,775 on Thursday, marking its third consecutive session of decline, as investors remained cautious amid geopolitical tensions and stock-specific developments. Sentiment was weighed by uncertainty in the Middle East, even as softer US inflation data reduced expectations of a near-term Fed Reserve rate hike. India’s July annual inflation also rose to 4.45%, but remains unlikely to prompt a rate hike from the central bank in the coming months. Among corporate developments, Laurus Labs, Lenskart, Adani Energy and Groww will be added to the MSCI Global Standard Index effective Sept. 1, potentially attracting about $598 million, $352 million, $310 million and $256 million respectively in passive inflows. Eternal, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports are also expected to benefit from higher MSCI weights, while Reliance Industries and Jio Financial could see passive outflows. Early losers included Cupid (-1.2%), Thyrocare (-4.5%), and Ather Energy (-3.5%).