Sensex recovers to end higher, banks lead gains

1. Banking and auto stocks led the gains
2. But losses in some IT stocks like TCS capped the gains

Sensex recovers to end higher, banks lead gains 

Indian stock market indices Sensex and Nifty recovered from sharp early losses to end higher today, though marginally. Banking and auto stocks led the gains. But losses in some IT stocks like TCS capped the gains. The Sensex ended 38 points higher at 37,350, recovering from day's low of 36,974. The Nifty settled 0.17% higher at 11,047.

Among the banking stocks, Yes Bank rose 4%, IndusInd Bank 2.7% and Axis Bank 2%. Select auto stocks also saw some buying. Maruti Suzuki rose 2.7%, Hero MotoCorp 1.3% and Bajaj Auto 1.3%.

Among the losers, TCS fell 2% while HCL Tech slipped 1.3%. Other market heavyweights like Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever also ended lower.

However, shares of Reliance Industries Ltd climbed 10% during the week, their best weekly performance since July 2018. Reliance unveiled the sale of a portion of its oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco and introduced new high-speed internet services earlier this week.

Sanjeev Zarbade, VP of PCG Research at Kotak Securities, said: "The macro-economic fundamentals of the economy are good (inflation and forex reserves) but consumer demand has continued to weaken in recent months. The just concluded earnings season was not encouraging either. This will restrict upside for the Nifty/Sensex in the near term. Trade disputes, Global bond yields and currency will be the main monitorable for the market in coming weeks."

Elsewhere, shares of IDBI Bank tumbled nearly 9% today after the company reported widening of loss to ₹3,800.84 crore for the June quarter. Intra-day, the stock tumbled 12.33 per cent to touch its 52-week low at ₹23.80.

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