Equity indices range-bound but close higher, NTPC gains 7.4 pc

Equity benchmark indices traded in a narrow range after initial bouts of volatility on Monday but ended in the green amid a mixed trend in Asian markets.

Equity benchmark indices traded in a narrow range after initial bouts of volatility on Monday but ended in the green amid a mixed trend in Asian markets. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 173 points or 0.46 percent higher at 38,051 while the Nifty 50 gained by 81 points or 0.72 percent at 11,259.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone except for Nifty pharma and PSU bank which dipped marginally. The nifty metal was up by 2.5 percent, auto by 2.4 percent IT by 1.3 percent and FMCG by 1.1 percent. Among stocks, power utility major NTPC emerged as the top gainers by gaining 7.4 percent to Rs 95 per share. Eicher Motors followed with gains of 4.8 percent at Rs 21,110 per share.

Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were up by 4.3 percent each while metal major Hindalco ticked up by 4.4 percent at Rs 193.20 per share. However, State Bank of India dropped by 1.5 percent to Rs 193.45 per unit, and Reliance Industries lost by 0.9 percent to Rs 2,094.05. Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank too traded with a negative bias.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were mixed with Shanghai composite jumping by 2.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng by 0.65 percent. But Japan's Nikkei dipped by 0.83 percent after the country suffered its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter. South Korea's Kospi too closed 1.23 percent lower.