Sensex, Nifty rebound over 1% as financials, FMCG shares gain

MUMBAI: Benchmark stock indices sensex and Nifty rebounded over 1 per cent on Wednesday following buying in FMCG, financials and auto stocks amid softening crude oil prices and foreign funds turning net buyers of domestic equities after a long gap.
The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 616.62 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 53,750.97 as 25 of its shares ended in the green. During the day, it rallied 684.96 points or 1.28 per cent to 53,819.31.
The NSE Nifty shot up 178.95 points or 1.13 per cent to 15,989.80 with 40 constituents posting gains.
Among sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Nestle were the major gainers.
Power Grid, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel were the laggards.
Softening crude oil prices, FIIs repositioning to net buyers and strong business data from lenders boosted domestic equities, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.
Crude prices fell sharply by 10 per cent on Tuesday which “boosted the appetite for consumption, chemicals, logistics and OMCs as it will reduce the cost burden of these sectors”, Nair said.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.76 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.94 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, auto jumped 2.73 per cent, followed by consumer discretionary goods & services (2.47 per cent), FMCG (2.45 per cent), consumer durables (2.42 per cent) and realty (2.39 per cent).
Energy and metal were the only laggards.
“According to preliminary data made public on the NSE, FIIs became net purchasers on July 5 for the first time since May 30, purchasing shares worth Rs 1,295.84 crore,” Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS at Hem Securities, said.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended lower on Wednesday.
European markets were trading higher in mid-session deals.
The US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.43 per cent to $105.3 per barrel.