Stock markets advance for 2nd day on buying in L&T; Sensex gains 144 pts

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Wednesday, driven by heavy buying in infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro.

Rising for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 143.91 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 81,481.86. During the day, the barometer moved in a tight range and rose by 281.01 points or 0.34 per cent to hit a high of 81,618.96.

The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 33.95 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,855.05.

US trade deal uncertainty and foreign fund outflows restricted the market rally to a large extent, analysts said.

Among Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4.87 per cent after the infrastructure major reported a 29.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,617.19 crore during the June quarter, driven by strong overseas order growth.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.

However, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,636.60 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

US President Donald Trump has said the trade deal with India is not finalised, as he stressed that India imposes more tariffs than almost any other country.

Trump spoke to reporters on Tuesday on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland and was asked about the trade deal with India.

“No, it’s not,” Trump said when asked if the deal with India is finalised.

He was also asked about reports that India is preparing to face higher US tariffs between 20-25 per cent, to which he replied, “I think so." "Markets traded in a tight range and ended marginally higher amid mixed cues. After a flat start, the Nifty oscillated within a narrow band throughout the session and finally settled at 24,855.05.

"Sentiment remained subdued due to lingering uncertainty over the trade deal, following the latest statement from the US President about potential tariffs on India, amid delays in finalizing the agreement ahead of the August 1 deadline," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower while South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended in positive territory.

European markets were quoting on a mixed note. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.44 per cent to USD 72.19 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 446.93 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 81,337.95. The Nifty climbed 140.20 points or 0.57 per cent to 24,821.10.