Indian equities closed in positive territory on Thursday, driven by strength in the Metals, Power and Oil & Gas sectors.
At the National Stock Exchange close, the Nifty 50 inched up 0.30%. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex 30 finished 0.27% higher.
The session's top performers on the Nifty included Tata Steel Ltd (NSE:TISC), which advanced 4.47% - a gain of 8.66 points - to finish at 202.51. Larsen & Toubro Ltd (NSE:LART) added 3.80%, rising 144.00 points to close at 3,938.00. Axis Bank Ltd (NSE:AXBK) was also among the leaders, climbing 3.50% or 46.20 points to end at 1,366.00.
On the losing side, Asian Paints Ltd. (NSE:ASPN) fell 3.79%, or 95.30 points, to close at 2,416.50. SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd (NSE:SBIL) dropped 2.74%, down 56.30 points to 1,996.90. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (NSE:MRTI) declined 2.64%, a fall of 393.00 points, to finish at 14,484.00.
Movements on the BSE mirrored much of the NSE action. The top performers on the Sensex were Tata Steel Ltd (BO:TISC), which gained 4.57% to 202.65; Larsen & Toubro Ltd (BO:LART), up 3.58% to settle at 3,929.40; and Axis Bank Ltd. (BO:AXBK), which rose 3.45% to close at 1,366.00.
The weakest names on the BSE included Asian Paints Ltd. (BO:ASPN), down 3.71% to 2,417.75; Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (BO:MRTI), which lost 2.71% to settle at 14,473.00; and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS), which declined 1.87% to close at 3,140.00.
Market breadth was negative by a notable margin. On the NSE, falling issues outnumbered advancing ones 1,542 to 960, with 48 stocks unchanged. The BSE recorded 2,440 decliners and 1,583 advancers, while 137 issues ended unchanged.
Several large-cap names reached fresh peaks during the session. Shares of Tata Steel Ltd rose to all-time highs on both exchanges, with the NSE listing rising 4.47% (8.66) to 202.51 and the BSE listing gaining 4.57% (8.85) to 202.65. Axis Bank Ltd also reached record levels on both exchanges, advancing 3.50% (46.20) to 1,366.00 on the NSE and 3.45% (45.50) to 1,366.00 on the BSE.
Volatility, as measured by the India VIX for Nifty 50 options, eased 1.50% to 13.32.
Commodity prices saw mixed movement. Gold Futures for April delivery were reported up 3.75% or 200.29 to $5,540.49 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery rose 1.95% or $1.23 to $64.44 a barrel, while the April Brent contract increased 1.78% or $1.20 to $68.57 a barrel.
In currency markets, USD/INR slipped 0.13% to 91.90 and EUR/INR fell 0.10% to 109.92. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11% at 96.17.
This session's price action left headline indices modestly higher while internal breadth remained tilted toward declines. The metals and banking pockets produced notable headline moves with record highs for select names; at the same time, several consumer and technology-related large caps posted declines.