By The Indian stock market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, driven by the healthcare, financial, and commodity sectors. The BSE Sensex continued its upward trend, rising 0.24% to settle at 58,214.59 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty increased 0.26% to close at 17,151.90 points. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, and Power Grid were the major gainers on the Sensex, while NTPC, Axis Bank, Nestle, HCL Technologies, and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
In other parts of Asia, Seoul, Japan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai markets also ended on a positive note. Similarly, European markets were trading positively during the afternoon trade, while the US markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday. However, global oil benchmark Brent crude decreased 0.31% to USD 75.09 per barrel.
Foreign Portfolio Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,454.63 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. This may be attributed to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in India and uncertainty around the upcoming state elections. Despite this, the Indian stock market has remained resilient and has shown positive growth over the past few days.