Markets settle with modest gains in highly volatile trade amid global sell-off

Equity benchmarks eked out marginal gains to settle in the positive zone after swinging between gains and losses during the session on Wednesday amid weakness in global bourses.

In a trade marked with highs and lows, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 54.13 points or 0.09 percent to settle at 59,085.43. During the day, it hit a high of 59,170.87 and a low of 58,760.09.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty went up by 27.45 points or 0.16 percent to 17,604.95.

IndusInd Bank topped the Sensex gainers chart with a jump of 2.86 percent, followed by NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Asian Paints.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Sun Pharma, and State Bank of India were among the major laggards, slipping up to 0.93 percent.

''Caution prevailed in the market ahead of monthly expiry on Thursday, while key benchmark indices eked out modest gains and shrugged off weak sentiment across most Asian and European markets. ''Gains were muted as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium this Friday,'' said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.80 percent, and smallcap index advanced 0.73 percent.

''Bulls and bears continued to battle it out in the domestic market as weak global cues persisted, keeping the market under pressure.

''The US economy contracted amid muted demand conditions with the service sector witnessing a sharp decline. Markets in Europe experienced a protracted sell-off as a result of investors' concern over the oil crisis and the uncertain growth outlook,'' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, realty climbed 1.74 percent, followed by industrials (0.92 percent), telecom (0.91 percent), capital goods (0.80 percent), and finance (0.64 percent).

IT, auto, consumer durables, oil & gas, and teck were the losers.

''Nifty ended in the positive for the second consecutive session after a see-saw session.

''This was despite weakness in the European markets and some Asian markets due to the latest hawkish noises from the Federal Reserve amid mounting signs of a global economic slowdown (in China due to drought-driven power shortage and poor service sector Aug data from the US),'' Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

According to a recent report, sales of new homes in the US slowed more than experts expected last month, indicating a possible economic recession.

A slowdown in the US economy could adversely impact export-dependent Asian economies.

In Asia, markets in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong settled lower, while Seoul ended in the green.

Stock markets in Europe were trading lower during mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended lower on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.04 percent to USD 101.3 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 563 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.