Bulls continued to dominate Dalal Street on Wednesday amid buying in select blue-chip counters such as SBI, TCS, Infosys, RIL, and ITC. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex reclaimed the crucial 40,000-level as the investor sentiment remained upbeat amid better-than-expected September quarter results for key companies and reports that dividend distribution tax (DDT) may be scrapped.
The S&P BSE Sensex added 220 points or 0.55 per cent to end at 40,052. SBI (up nearly 3.50 per cent) emerged as the top gainer and YES Bank (down nearly 4 per cent) the biggest loser. During the day, the index hit a high and low of 40,178.12 and 39,805.11, respectively.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,697, up 0.65 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index gained 0.36 per cent to settle at 13,431 levels.
On the NSE, the Nifty50 index ended at 11,844, up 57 points or 0.49 per cent. Out of 50 components, 28 ended in the green and 22 in the red.
Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, state-run banks advanced the most, followed by IT and FMCG counters. The Nifty PSU Bank ended at 2,413.40, up around 4 per cent. On the flip side, realty and media stocks slipped the most in trade.
BUZZING STOCKS
Shares of BEML surged 10 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,108 in the intra-day deals on the BSE on report that the government has started the divestment process of the state-owned commercial vehicles' company. The stock eventually settled at Rs 1,053 apiece, up over 4 per cent.
State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) zoomed 14 per cent to Rs 61.30 apiece on the BSE after global brokerage firm CLSA upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Sell' owing to the benefits that the company could reap due to government's stake sale. The stock ended at Rs 59 apiece on the BSE, up nearly 10 per cent.
Graphite India settled around 3.50 per cent lower at Rs 282.55 on the BSE after the company reported a sharp 83 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in the consolidated net profit at Rs 185 crore in September quarter, due to lower realisaton. The graphite electrode manufacturer had profit of Rs 1,113 crore in the year-ago quarter.
United Bank settled 20 per cent higher at Rs 8.90 apiece after the lender posted profit of Rs 124 crore against loss of Rs 883.2 crore in the year-ago period.
GLOBAL MARKETS
A rally in global shares stalled on Wednesday, with Asian shares slipping from three-month highs, as the prospect of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve was countered by worries a Sino-US first-stage trade deal could be delayed. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.33 per cent from Tuesday's three-month high while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.57 per cent after hitting a one-year high the previous day. China's CSI300 of Shanghai and Shenzhen shares fell 0.49 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices slipped. Brent crude was down 7 cents, or 0.1 per cent, at $61.52 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 15 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $55.39 a barrel after reaching a low of $55.16.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "MARKET WRAP: Sensex gains 220 pts, ends above 40K as PSBs, IT stocks rally")
