New Delhi, 20 May (H.S.): Amid concerns over the West Asia crisis and weak global cues, the domestic stock market recovered from early losses to end the trading session on a positive note on the third trading day of the week, Wednesday. A sharp rise in Reliance Industries’ shares helped benchmark indices gain, with the Sensex rising by 117 points, while the Nifty advanced by 41 points.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 75,318.39, up 117.54 points or 0.16 per cent. During intraday trade, the index had fallen as much as 671.44 points or 0.89 per cent to a low of 74,529.41. Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty also rose by 41 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 23,659. Auto, realty, and banking stocks recorded the strongest gains during the session.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, shares of Reliance Industries surged 2.83 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Trent, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra also ended in positive territory. On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, and Tata Steel were among the major laggards.

In global markets, Brent crude oil benchmark fell by nearly 2 per cent and was trading around USD 109 per barrel. In Asia, South Korea’s KOSPI, Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all closed in negative territory. European markets, however, were trading with a positive bias in the afternoon session.

According to market analysts, despite concerns related to crude oil prices and weakness in the rupee, late-session buying supported the domestic markets. Experts noted that last-hour buying and the rally in Reliance Industries’ shares helped the Indian stock market recover from early losses.

It is noteworthy that on the previous trading session, Tuesday, the BSE Sensex had closed 114.19 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 75,200.85, while the Nifty had declined by 31.95 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 23,618.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar