Sensex, Nifty close higher in volatile trade; RIL gains after mega-merger deal

Mumbai, Feb 29 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed with gains on Thursday in a highly volatile trade amid the scheduled monthly expiry of derivative contracts.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 195.42 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 72,500.30. During the day, the benchmark oscillated between a high of 72,730.00 and a low of 72,099.32.

The broader Nifty of NSE gained 31.65 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 21,982.80.

Among Sensex shares, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech, Power Grid, Maruti, State Bank of India, Titan, Asian Paints, Nestle and UltraTech Cement were the major gainers.

Reliance Industries closed more than half a per cent higher after the company announced a proposed merger of media and entertainment assets of Viacom18 with Star India.

Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

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

European markets were trading mostly in the green. The US markets ended marginally lower on Wednesday.

“Domestic benchmark traded near a flat-line trend throughout the session, but some buoyancy emerged by the end of the day. Investors adopted a cautious wait & watch approach on the verge of a heavy economic data week,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,879.23 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

“Markets traded volatile on the monthly expiry day but managed to end marginally higher,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

The BSE benchmark fell by 790.34 points or 1.08 per cent to settle at 72,304.88 on Wednesday. The Nifty slumped 247.20 points or 1.11 per cent to settle at 21,951.15.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.43 per cent to USD 83.32 a barrel.