Stocks log steady gains amid Trump turmoil

IT counters spurted after the rupee hit fresh 15-month lows against the US currency, boosting the dollar revenues of software outsourcers.

The BSE Sensex moved up 103 points to 35,319.35, while the wider NSE Nifty finished at 10,741.70, up 23.90 points.

Crude oil climbed to the highest level since late 2014 at USD 77.07 per barrel after US President Donald Trump abandoned an international nuclear deal with Iran, ratcheting up geopolitical tensions and likely disrupting oil supplies.

Back home, the 30-share Sensex opened weak and hit a low of 35,134.20 on profit-booking in recent gainers amid sustained outflows by foreign funds.

However, it soon recovered to touch the day's high of 35,404.83, before finally ending at 35,319.35 -- up 103.03 points, or 0.29 per cent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty too moved in a wide range on hectic selling and buying and closed 23.90 points, or 0.22 per cent, higher at 10,741.70. Intra-day, it hovered between 10,689.85 and 10,766.25.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 923.25 crore while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 97.15 crore in yesterday's trade, provisional data showed.

"The US decision to withdraw from nuclear deal with Iran added pressure on oil prices while gains in IT index owing to weaknesses in rupee and other stock specific buying led the bourses to close positive. 

"Volatility in bond yield will impact companies' margins which may lead to a cascading impact on earnings expectation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Tata Motors posted the biggest gain in the Sensex pack, jumping 2.79 per cent, after the company-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today reported an 11.9 per cent rise in retail sales at 45,180 units in April.

Other gainers were Asian Paints 1.69 per cent, TCS 1.39 per cent, Axis Bank 1.36 per cent, Yes Bank 1.31 per cent, Tata Steel 1.06 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.93 per cent, RIL 0.79 per cent, Bharti Airtel 0.72 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.63 per cent, Infosys 0.51 per cent, L&T 0.38 per cent, HUL 0.25 per cent and IndusInd Bank 0.23 per cent.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma declined 1.02 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank 0.70 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.70 per cent, Wipro 0.66 per cent, M&M 0.64 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.61 per cent, NTPC 0.61 per cent, Dr Reddy's 0.57 per cent and SBI 0.48 per cent.

Sectorally, the BSE IT index ended 0.74 per cent higher, while teck rose 0.56 per cent, consumer durables 0.46 per cent, capital goods 0.40 per cent, bankex 0.23 per cent and metal 0.11 per cent.

However, power declined 0.57 per cent, healthcare 0.47 per cent, infrastructure 0.37 per cent, PSU 0.36 per cent, FMCG 0.26 per cent, auto 0.22 per cent and oil and gas 0.05 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE mid-cap index fell 0.63 per cent and the small-cap index shed 0.13 per cent.

In the global commodities markets, Brent crude oil prices rose by 2.97 per cent to USD 77.07 a barrel and WTI jumped 2.92 per cent to USD 71.08.

Asian markets were mixed as investors digested the news of the US pulling out of the Iran deal. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.44 per cent, Singapore gained 0.15 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.44 per cent and Shanghai Composite index inched lower by 0.07 per cent.

In the Eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.27 per cent and Paris CAC was up 0.07 per cent in early trade. London's FTSE too gained 0.60 per cent.