Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today raised its rating outlook on India to stable from negative, taking note of the government's efforts to contain its fiscal deficit in the next financial year starting April 1. The ratings agency also affirmed the country's long-term and short-term sovereign credit ratings.
After moving in a narrow range of 17,548-17,418, the 30-share BSE Sensex finished at 17,519, up 29 points or 0.17% and the Nifty rose by 14 points or 0.27% to 5,246. Second-line stocks also received modest buying support and decliners outpaced gainers by 1566 to 1259 on the BSE.
Rate-sensitive banking stocks outperformed after data showed India's annual food inflation eased to 16.30% in the week to March 6 from 17.81% a week before, continuing the downward trend for the second straight week.
SBI edged up 0.18%, ICICI Bank gained 1.19%, Axis Bank added 1.68% and United Bank of India gained over 4% on its debut, while HDFC Bank ended down 0.23%.
In the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel, which submitted its bid for 3G spectrum on Thursday, ended up 0.69%. Reliance Communication rose over 2% after partnering with Polycom for video conferencing services.
Tata Teleservices soared 4.67% after it sold its tower business to Quippo-Wireless TT Info Services for an enterprise value of Rs 1,318 crore. Idea Cellular, which received a clean chit from government-appointed auditors, rallied 4.66%.
Metal stocks gained despite lower commodity prices. JSW Steel and SAIL rose over 2% each, Hindalco gained 1.56%, NALCO added 1.27% and Tata Steel ended up 0.90%.
Software exporter TCS, which touched its all-time high on Wednesday, ended down 1.64% on profit taking, while Infosys closed at a record high, adding 1.66%. Wipro fell 1.47%, HCL Technologies declined 1.56% and Tech Mahindra lost 1%.
Mortgage lender HDFC rose 0.27% on a brokerage upgrade. Oil explorer Reliance Industries advanced 0.80%. Jaiprakash Associates (up 2.53%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 1.42%), DLF (up 1.12%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.71%), Hero Honda Motors (up 0.58%) and ACC (up 0.51%) also closed notably higher, while Tata Motors and BHEL closed unchanged with a positive bias.
Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro slipped 0.40% on profit taking following an over 4% gain in the past two sessions. Iron ore producer NMDC eased 1.46%. ONGC fell almost 2%, Mahindra & Mahindra shed over 3%, Tata Power lost 1.27%, NTPC declined 1.25%, Sterlite Industries slipped 0.92%, ITC gave off 0.89% and Maruti Suzuki ended down 0.89%.
Bajaj Electricals gained 3.41% on the back of multiple bulk deals. McNally Bharat Engineering Company edged up 0.13% on bagging a Rs.173.29-crore contract from Mahanadi Coalfields. Fedders Lloyd rallied 4.29% and Nitin Fire Protection Industries rose 0.74% on winning new orders.
Kovai Medical Center & Hospital (up 11%), Piramal Life Sciences (up 11.5%) and Shasun Chemicals & Drugs (up 10%) soared on heavy volumes.
Elsewhere, Asian stocks ended on a mixed note, taking cues from lower commodity prices and the strong U.S dollar, while European stocks edged lower on Thursday as investors paused for breath after a two-day rally.
Trading in the U.S index futures suggested that the Dow could drop 8 points at the opening bell on Thursday as investors await consumer inflation and weekly jobless claims data for further clues on the health of the world's largest economy.
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