Sensex closes above 29,000 after 17 months; IT stocks fall

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex closed above 29,000-mark for the first in 17 months after rising 119 points Thursday on buying in auto and realty sectors, while IT stocks took a heavy beating following TCS' outlook warning.

This triggered selling in IT counters with the country's largest software services firm TCS' falling by 5.14 percent to Rs 2,321.15. Wipro plunged 1.77 percent Rs 473.60 and Infosys tanked 1.62 percent to Rs 1,037.90.

Among gainers, auto stocks were in limelight, after Siam raised growth guidance for the industry. Sector leader Maruti Suzuki hit an all-time high after rising 2.71 percent to Rs 5,482.40. Bajaj Auto soared 3.55 percent to Rs 3,091.95.

Tracking gains in bluechip stocks, investors were also seen building up position in broader markets, lifting the small-cap and mid-cap indices by 0.83 and 0.15 percent.

"Market turned positive with continued liquidity while IT bellwethers were the laggards today due to reduction in revenue estimate, which capped the upside," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

With the US data continuing to diminish chances of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve, domestic equities continued to attract interest.

The 30-share BSE barometer after a slightly better start, quickly slipped into the negative zone and touched a low of 28,854.56 on profit-booking in select scrips.

However, on emergence of buying it staged a strong comeback to hit a high of 29,077.28 before finally settling 118.92 points or 0.41 percent higher at 29,045.28, its highest closing since April 13, last year.

The 50-share index ended up by 34.55 points to finish the day at 8,952.50 after shuttling between 8,896 and 8,960.35.

Sentiment also got a boost after domestic passenger vehicle sales grew for a 14th straight month in August with a 16.68 percent increase, triggering buying activity in select auto sector stocks.

Globally, Asian markets mostly ended mixed with Hong Kong and Shanghai rising as investors cheered data showing Chinese imports rose in August for the first time in almost two years.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.75 percent, while Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.13 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.32 percent.

Europe was also mixed with the UK's FTSE higher by 0.35 percent, however, Germany's DAX was down 0.19 percent, while France's CAC 40 was 0.06 percent lower.

Back home, 22 scrips out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended higher.

Major gainers included Sun Pharma (3.69 percent), Tata Steel (3.32 percent), Lupin (2.44 percent), Hero MotoCorp (2.43 percent), HUL (2.13 percent), Cipla (1.98 percent), RIL (1.45 percent), Dr Reddy's (1.44 percent), ITC (1.38 percent) and L&T (1.30 percent).

However, laggards included, GAIL down 1.92 percent, NTPC 0.96 percent lower and ICICI Bank 0.65 percent in the red.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, realty rose 3.03 percent followed by healthcare 2.20 percent, consumer durables 1.19 percent, telecom 1.13 percent, FMCG 1.00 percent, metal 0.92 percent and auto 0.91 percent, while IT fell 2.49 percent, teck 1.81 percent, utilities 0.05 percent and bankex 0.04 percent.

The market breadth remained positive as 1,608 stocks ended higher, 1,151 finished in the red while 194 ruled steady.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3,978.93 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4,178.26 crore registered yesterday.