Sensex breaks four-day fall on earnings lift, ends 75 pts up at 25,305

Sensex slipped in early trade on sustained foreign fund outflows and a weakening rupee against the dollar. However, some value-buying and higher opening in Europe took the barometer to 25,305.47 at the close, up 75.11 points, or 0.30%.

The benchmark Sensex reversed its four-day fall on Tuesday and ended higher by over 75 points, taking comfort from encouraging corporate earnings despite lingering worries about a likely rate hike by the US Fed as early as June.

Sensex slipped in early trade on sustained foreign fund outflows and a weakening rupee against the dollar. However, some value-buying and higher opening in Europe took the barometer to 25,305.47 at the close, up 75.11 points, or 0.30%. (PTI File Photo)

A higher opening in Europe and a mixed trend in Asia offered some respite.

Sentiment got a lift after Tata Power and National Fertilisers posted strong earnings for the March quarter, brokers said.

But the possibility of the US Federal Reserve raising borrowing costs kept investors on a leash, which capped the gains. A higher rate would temper capital flows to emerging markets, including India.

The 30-share Sensex slipped in early trade on sustained foreign fund outflows and a weakening rupee against the dollar. However, some value-buying and higher opening in Europe took the barometer to 25,305.47 at the close, up 75.11 points, or 0.30%.

The gauge had fallen 549 points in the past four sessions on foreign fund outflows after regulator Sebi tightened guidelines to check any misuse of P-Notes.

Tata Power and National Fertilisers surged up to 3% after their quarterly numbers for the March quarter gave investors much to cheer.

However, Jubilant FoodWorks and Britannia Industries tumbled up to 4.45% on Tuesday amid concerns over bread samples of virtually all top brands in Delhi reportedly containing cancer-causing chemicals.

The NSE Nifty gained 17.80 points or 0.23% to 7,748.85 after shuttling between 7,761.55 and 7,715.80.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 65.60 crore on Monday, as per provisional data.

Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 ended higher.

NTPC stayed in the lead, up 2.03%, followed by Tata Motors (1.70%), ICICI Bank (1.56%) and HDFC (1.33%).

Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, auto rose by 0.32% followed by banking 0.28% and FMCG 0.18%. Oil and gas fell 1.01% and healthcare shed (0.88%).

However, broader markets showed a downward trend as small-cap and mid-cap indices slumped by 0.65% and 0.16%, respectively.

Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.94% higher while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.77% up while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.11% higher.

European shares climbed after a drop in the euro helped boost European stocks as investors weighed implications of a possible Federal Reserve interest rate increase. Key indices, like France and the UK rose by up to 1.35%.