The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex rose by 103.12 points to close at 28,864.71 and the National Stock Exchange Nifty gained 19.05 points to end at 8,926.90 as Indian markets closed higher for the sixth straight session on Wednesday. Investor sentiment was boosted by gains made by Reliance Industries Limited, as well as the rise in Asian and other global markets.
The Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL was the day’s biggest gainer, climbing by 11.17% to end at Rs 1,209.80 – its highest level since June, 2009, NDTV reported. This came after Ambani on Tuesday said the conglomerate’s telecom unit Jio had reached 100 million subscribers in 170 days. Ambani also announced paid schemes for the telecom company, which had so far been offering a majority of its services for free to its consumers.
Meanwhile, information technology companies were among the day’s biggest losers, with HCL Technologies Limited, Infosys Limited and Tata Consultancy Services Limited falling between 2.14%-2.25%. The Nifty’s IT index also ended the day 1.55% lower at 10,514.80. Castrol India Limited also lost 2.04% despite the company reporting a 10.7% in its December quarter profits on Tuesday.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap also closed 0.58% lower. On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex had closed at its highest since September 22, while the NSE’s Nifty50 closed at its highest since September 9.
Meanwhile, Asian markets traded higher on Wednesday, AP reported. While South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 1% higher. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 and the Shanghai Composite closed 0.2% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed flat. Investors are waiting for the United States Federal Reserve to release the minutes of its latest meeting, which is expected to provide insight on the institution’s views on a rate hike.
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