Equity indices erase early gains, metals outshine

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains but closed in the green on Thursday with metal stocks witnessing handsome gains.

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains but closed in the green on Thursday with metal stocks witnessing handsome gains. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 84 points or 0.17 percent higher at 49,746 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 55 points or 0.37 percent to 14,874. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty metal up by 3.9 percent, IT by 1.2 percent, and realty by 0.8 percent.

Among stocks, JSW Steel was the top gainer by moving up 9.6 percent to Rs 616.20 per share. Tata Steel was up by 5.4 percent to Rs 992 and Hindalco by 4 percent to Rs 366.55. The other prominent winners were Titan, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Britania, and Nestle India.

However, those which lost were IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, SBI Life, and Sun Pharma. Meanwhile, Asian share markets lagged as US stock futures nudged to another record high after the Federal Reserve underlined its commitment to keeping policy super loose.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was flat. Japan's Nikkei eased by 0.07 percent. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index crawled up by 1.16 percent. (ANI)