Stock markets settle higher in volatile trade; metal, auto shares shine

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally higher in a volatile trade on March 18 as cautious investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Fed interest rate decision this week and rising crude oil prices.

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally higher in a volatile trade on March 18 as cautious investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Fed interest rate decision this week and rising crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 104.99 points or 0.14% to settle at 72,748.42. During the day, it gyrated between a high of 72,985.89 and a low of 72,314.16. The NSE Nifty rose by 32.35 points or 0.15% to 22,055.70.

From the Sensex basket, Tata Steel jumped more than 5%. Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and Maruti were the other biggest gainers.

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle were among the laggards. Auto, metal, commodities and healthcare shares gained while IT and teck stocks faced losses.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled higher. European markets were quoting in the green. The U.S. markets ended lower on March 15. “Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹848.56 crore on Friday,” according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.87% to $86.08 a barrel. The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 453.85 points or 0.62% to settle at 72,643.43 on March 15. The NSE Nifty dropped 123.30 points or 0.56% to 22,023.35.