Top Sensex gainers: HUL, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Asian Paints and ITC (rising 1-2% each).
Top Sensex losers: SBI, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel.
Stocks in news
Paytm shares rose 4.8%, hitting a 5% upper circuit after Q4 results.
Paytm’s Q4 losses widened to Rs 550 crore compared to Rs 169 crore in the same quarter last year.
Sector-wise Performance:
Nifty IT index rose 0.7%, with gains in Coforge, LTTS, and Infosys.
The FMCG sector increased by 1.43%, led by Dabur, Tata Consumers Products, and Hindustan Unilever.
Global Markets:
Share markets fell due to stronger-than-expected inflation in Britain and investor caution ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve minutes.
MSCI world equity index remained flat.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.3%.
Oil Prices:
Brent crude futures fell by 64 cents (0.8%) to $82.24 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped by 65 cents (0.8%) to $78.01.
Oil prices retreated for a third straight day on expectations of sustained U.S. interest rates affecting fuel use.
Rupee Performance:
The Indian rupee closed slightly stronger at 83.28 against the U.S. dollar.
The rupee hit an intra-day peak of 83.2250, its highest since April 10.
