Sensex, Nifty start on choppy note; Bharti Airtel soars 10%

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a volatile note on Wednesday as investors await directional cues from domestic as well as global markets.

After swinging 258 points in the opening session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 75.75 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 40,597.85. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 29.90 points or 0.25 per cent to 11,919.30.

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 10 per cent, after the country's second largest telecom operator reported its highest-ever quarterly consolidated revenue, helping it narrow losses in the July-September period.

Consolidated revenue rose 22 per cent to Rs 25,785 crore in the September quarter while net loss narrowed to Rs 763 crore.

M&M, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Axis Bank and Infosys were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank fell around 2 per cent, followed by HDFC, HUL, ICICI Bank and Titan.

In the previous session, Sensex surged 376.60 points or 0.94 per cent to finish at 40,522.10, while Nifty climbed 121.65 points or 1.03 per cent to 11,889.40.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 3,514.89 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.

According to Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities, Indian equities are expected to be volatile ahead of monthly derivatives expiry and US presidential election.

However, news pertaining to a fiscal stimulus before Diwali, MSCI rebalancing next month and healthy 2Q corporate earnings are likely to aid the domestic market, he said.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the positive territory.

Equities on Wall Street ended on a mixed note in overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.78 per cent lower at USD 40.87 per barrel