Stock markets advance for 2nd day on buying in L&T; Sensex gains 144 points

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Wednesday driven by heavy buying in infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro.

Rising for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 143.91 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 81,481.86. During the day, the barometer moved in a narrow range and rose by 281.01 points or 0.34 per cent to hit a high of 81,618.96.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 33.95 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 24,855.05.

US trade deal uncertainty and foreign fund outflows restricted the gains to a large extent, analysts said.

Among Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4.87 per cent after the infrastructure major reported a 29.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,617.19 crore during the June quarter, driven by strong overseas order growth.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.

Tata Motors was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, dropping by 3.47 per cent amid reports that the auto maker was in advanced talks to acquire the truck division of an Italian company in a USD 4.5 billion deal.

Stock exchanges have sought clarification from the company related to the reports.

"Tata Motors is down amid concerns linked to its acquisition of an Italian company," Gaurav Garg, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.

However, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.

"The domestic market ended the session marginally positive after a range-bound trade, despite ongoing uncertainty around the delayed India-US trade agreement and mixed earnings.

"The investors turned more stock/sector specific based on the Q1 results; the industrial segment gained momentum after robust earnings from L&T. The auto sector underperformed, largely due to tariff-related pressures. Investors are now focusing on the US Fed's policy meeting, as its stance on rates and inflation could shape global sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,636.60 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

US President Donald Trump has said the trade deal with India is not finalised, as he stressed that India imposes more tariffs than almost any other country. Trump spoke to reporters on Tuesday on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland and was asked about the trade deal with India.

“No, it's not,” Trump said when asked if the deal with India is finalised. He was also asked about reports that India is preparing to face higher US tariffs between 20-25 per cent, to which he replied, “I think so."    "Markets traded in a tight range and ended marginally higher amid mixed cues. After a flat start, the Nifty oscillated within a narrow band throughout the session and finally settled at 24,855.05.

"Sentiment remained subdued due to lingering uncertainty over the trade deal, following the latest statement from the US President about potential tariffs on India, amid delays in finalizing the agreement ahead of the August 1 deadline," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbed 0.17 per cent each.

Among BSE sectoral indices, industrials jumped 1.31 per cent, followed by teck (0.35 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.31 per cent), IT (0.30 per cent), capital goods (0.27 per cent) and commodities (0.26 per cent).

Realty dropped 0.99 per cent, services declined 0.75 per cent, metal (0.16 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.14 per cent).

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

European markets were quoting on a mixed note. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.44 per cent to USD 72.19 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 446.93 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 81,337.95. The Nifty climbed 140.20 points or 0.57 per cent to 24,821.10.