BENGALURU: Indian shares shrugged off losses to end higher in a volatile session on Thursday, led by a rebound in information technology stocks and supported by gains in ITC.
The blue-chip Nifty 50 index rose 0.74% to a record closing high of 22,217.45, while the BSE Sensex ended 0.74% higher at 73,158.24.
The two indexes were down about 0.8% earlier, before reversing course in the final two hours of trade.
“This is a market which will give an opportunity to buy good stocks at attractive valuations (and) buying-on-dips will continue, which will keep markets buoyant,” said Gaurav Dua, senior vice president and head of capital market strategy at Sharekhan.
“But there will be profit-taking at high levels,” Dua cautioned, a phenomenon that saw the market snap a six-session winning run on Wednesday.
The volatility index has remained near the 10-month highs it hit three weeks back, ahead of India’s budget.
Indian shares off to muted start
IT stocks jumped 1.94% after shedding 2.8% in a three-session losing run heading into the release of the minutes of Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, which did nothing to change expectations of U.S. rate cuts starting in June.
HCLTech advanced 2.9%, while TCS added 2.4%, leading gains among IT firms, which get a major part of their revenue from the U.S.
They were among the top Nifty gainers as well, as were Bajaj Auto and Eicher. They added over 3% each to lead auto stocks 1.64% higher.
ITC, the sixth-heaviest Nifty stock, rose 2.8% after media reports said the FMCG company would buy a 47% stake in Prataap Snacks, which increased 4.1%.
The domestically focussed small and mid-caps rose 0.68% and 1.02%, snapping two consecutive sessions of losses.
The minutes of the Reserve Bank of India’s latest policy meeting is due after the bell.
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