Benchmark indices face first weekly decline, steepest in 20 weeks
Sensex and Nifty faced their first weekly decline after four weeks of gains on Friday. The Sensex dropped to a low of 72,485 while the NSE Nifty 50 dipped to a low of 21,932.
The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied about 160 points to trade above the key 30,000-mark in opening trade on Wednesday, buoyed by forecast of a normal monsoon this year amid positive global cues.
Sentiments got a leg up after data showed that foreign funds, which were largely net sellers on the Indian bourses for some time, made fresh purchases in yesterday's trade, brokers said.
The 30-share barometer was trading higher by 159.62 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 30,092.87 with all sectoral indices led by FMCG, metal, consumer durables, oil & gas and power leading the rally.
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The gauge had gained 74.45 points in the previous two sessions.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty rose 42.70 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 9,359.55.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on 9 May said the monsoon this year could be 'normal' and bring 100 per cent rainfall instead of 96 per cent it predicted earlier, which is expected to give a booster dose to the rural economy.
Other Asian markets were trading higher following an overnight positive lead from European and US markets.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.64 per cent while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.30 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite Index too was up 0.18 per cent.
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