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Sensex Closes 196 Points Higher, Nifty Back Above 11,000

Sensex, Nifty on Tuesday: Thirty nine stocks on the Nifty finished in the positive zone
Sensex, Nifty on Tuesday: Thirty nine stocks on the Nifty finished in the positive zone

Domestic stock markets rose on Tuesday, supported by gains witnessed across banking and energy stocks. BSE benchmark index Sensex moved up 196 points, or 0.5 per cent, to close at 36,519 while the NSE Nifty settled at 11,008, up 71 points. Thirty nine stocks on the Nifty finished in the positive zone. Top gainers on the 50-scrip Nifty index were Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindalco Industries and Axis Bank, ending between 3 per cent and 7 per cent higher. However, the upside was limited due to a selloff witnessed in FMCG stocks led by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which declined 3.6 per cent.

Banking stocks jumped, with the Nifty settling 1.2 per cent higher. State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda settled with gains of around 3-7 per cent.

Reports that the finance ministry is likely to infuse about Rs 10,000 crore within a few days in some state-owned lenders including PNB, Corporation Bank and Central Bank of India, to help them meet regulatory capital requirement too accelerated the buying pace, news agency Press Trust of India cited brokers as saying.

The Nifty PSU Bank finished the day with a gain of 3.9 per cent.

Oil companies such as Hindustan Petroleum gained on lower oil prices. The Nifty Energy index - comprising oil & gas shares - settled 1.7 per cent higher. BPCL, Reliance Industries and ONGC advanced 1.5-3 per cent.

Oil prices stabilised as worries over supply disruptions balanced signs of increasing production and potential damage to global growth from the US-China trade dispute. Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 15 cents at $71.99 a barrel by 0920 GMT after earlier falling to $71.35, its lowest since April 17, according to a report by news agency Reuters. The contract fell 4.6 per cent on Monday. Oil prices have fallen by almost 10 per cent over the last week.

Smallcap and midcap stocks outperformed the Sensex, with the BSE indices finishing 2.1 per cent and 1.1 per cent higher respectively.

The session started on a choppy note with significant buying occurring only in the second half, pushing the key indices higher. Jayant Manglik, president, Religare Broking, expects the markets to remain volatile in the near term. "On the global front, US-China trade war talks along with movement in crude oil prices would be keenly tracked by investors. The ongoing corporate earnings season will also result in stock specific volatility," he said.

On the other hand, the Nifty FMCG fell 1 per cent, with HUL leading the losses. Hindustan Unilever had on Monday reported its earnings for the April-June period.

Meanwhile, broader Asian shares fell, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan trading 0.37 per cent lower.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 625.68 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 70.30 crore on Monday, provisional data from the NSE showed.

(With agency inputs)