Stock markets bounce back after four days of decline; Sensex climbs 158 points

Mumbai: Snapping the four-day losing run, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Thursday on buying in tech and IT shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex edged higher by 158.51 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 85,265.32. During the day, it rose by 380.4 points or 0.44 per cent to 85,487.21.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 47.75 points or 0.18 per cent to 26,033.75. Sensex dropped around 613 points or 0.72 per cent while Nifty shed nearly 230 points or 0.8 per cent in four straight sessions to Wednesday.

Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Bharat Electronics and Trent were the major gainers among Sensex scrips.

However, Maruti, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,206.92 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,730.41 crore, according to exchange data.

"Domestic markets closed flat amid mixed global cues and caution ahead of the RBI policy. Early value-driven gains were restrained by a record-low rupee and persistent FII outflows. However, lowered expectations of an RBI rate cut supported a mild currency rebound, helping indices stabilise towards the close," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited said.

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

Equity markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended higher on Wednesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.38 per cent to USD 62.91 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the Sensex dipped 31.46 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 85,106.81. The Nifty skidded 46.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 25,986.