Sensex, Nifty Hold Gains Led By Kotak Bank, Titan

The Indian equity benchmark indices advanced on Wednesday led by gains in index heavyweights like Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC and Infosys amid stable global cues. Asian stock markets rebounded Wednesday after Wall Street slid on anxiety over President Vladimir Putin’s authorization to send Russian soldiers into eastern Ukraine.

The Sensex was up 256 points at 57,556 and Nifty 50 index advanced 66 points to 17,158 by 1:14 pm.

Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia advanced. Oil prices edged higher on concern about possible disruption to Russian supplies. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Global stock prices sank Tuesday as traders tried to figure out the impact of Russia’s moves and sanctions imposed by Washington, Britain and the 27-nation European Union on its banks, officials and business leaders, news agency AP reported.

Back home, buying was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gaauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty Realty index's over 2 per cent gain. Nifty Media, Consumer Durables, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Bank and Auto indices also rose between 1-2 per cent.

Broader markets were also witnessing buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1.5 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 2.12 per cent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was top Nifty gainer, t9he stock rose 2.3 per cent to Rs 1,884. Titan, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Petroleum, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consumer Products, Bajaj Finance and Coal India also rose between 1-1.8 per cent.

On the flipside, ONGC, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Divi's Labs, Britannia Industries and Dr Reddy's Labs were among the notable losers.