Sensex rises by 150 pts; Yes Bank stock slumps 6 pct

Benchmark indices rose for the third straight session Thursday led by a surge in financial stocks as optimism over new RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das' promise to take all stakeholders along on key issues enthused bulls on Dalal Street. Recovery in rupee and positive cues from other Asian markets too influenced investor sentiment here, analysts said.

The BSE Sensex climbed 150.57 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 35,929.64, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 53.95 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 10,791.55. Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Wipro, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Maruti, Tata Motors, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, SBI, ONGC, HDFC Bank and HUL, rising up to 3 per cent.

Yes Bank, on the other hand, was the biggest loser, falling over 6 per cent after its board meet concluded. The bank said it has finalised a candidate for the chairman's position and would be seeking approval from the RBI. The bank, however, did not disclose the candidate's name. Other losers include Sun Pharma, TCS, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and Coal India, falling up to 2 per cent.

"In anticipation of some firm measures to ease the credit squeeze by the new RBI Governor post his meeting with PSU bank chiefs today, markets rallied in the morning but cooled off in the second half on some profit booking," said Essel Mutual Fund CIO Viral Berawala. "Stocks with rural focus also gained momentum on expectations of some pro-rural announcements by the Central government," Berawala added.

The rupee, meanwhile, rose 35 paise to 71.66 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,299.43 crore Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,121.29 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Brent crude oil futures were trading flat at USD 60.15 per barrel. Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's Kospi rose 0.62 per cent, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.99 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.29 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.23 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.31 per cent and Paris' CAC 40 shed 0.30 per cent in their early deals. London's FTSE too slipped 0.02 per cent.