Sensex jumps 200 points, Nifty50 tops 10,600; Sun Pharma declines 3%

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices opened on a higher note on Wednesday, tracking a slide in crude prices globally.

At 9.21 am, the BSE Sensex gained 192.49 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 35,336.98 while Nifty50 was ruling at 10,646, up 63.50 points, or 0.57 per cent.

"We expect thh ongoing upmove to extend towards 10,700-10,750 levels. Monday’s high of 10,645 would be seen as immediate level to watch out for. On the flipside, 10,540-10,500 would now be seen as intraday supports," said Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking.

Among Sensex stocks, Asian Paints climbed 3.16 per cent to Rs 1,325.40 on BSE. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors advanced 1.97 per cent, 1.89 per cent, 1.68 per cent and 1.64 per cent, respectively. IndusInd Bank added 1.59 per cent to Rs 1,507.95.

Sun Pharma, Infosys, TCS and Wipro declined 2.62 per cent, 1.05 per cent, 0.98 per cent and 0.67 per cent, respectively. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell as the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 218.82 crore for the July-September quarter on account of a Rs 1,214-crore provision for the settlement of the Modafinil antitrust case in the US.

Oil markets remained on a weak footing on Wednesday after a 7 percent slump the previous session, with surging supply and expectations of faltering demand pressuring crude prices, Reuters reported. US WTI crude oil futures were at $55.66 per barrel, down 3 cents from their last settlement, the report added.

A weakness in crude oil prices pushed the rupee higher, which dragged export-oriented counters.

Shares of Ashok Leyland declined 3 per cent after CEO and MD Vinod Dasari, who spent 14 years steering the commercial vehicle manufacturer, quit for “personal reasons.

The day will see 1,400-odd companies such as Pfizer, Future Retail, Unitech, HDIL, Indiabulls Integrated Services, Den Networks, NHPC, CESC, Indian Hotels, Cox & Kings, IPCA Labs, PC Jeweller and United Breweries to announce their quarterly results.