Sensex rallies 143 points but soon gives up gains

Adding gains for the fourth day on the trot, the Sensex jumped over 143 points and the Nifty retook the 8,800 level in early trade amid foreign capital inflows driven by a higher growth projection for India by IMF. However, the 30-share Sensex and its 50-share counterpart soon gave up the gains and were trading slightly below the red line.

Asian cues remained in a fine shape, backed by a strong conviction that US economy is on mend after a better showing of its manufacturing sector, which cheered investors.

The 30-share index was up 143.10 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 28,477.65, with all sectoral indices led by metal, realty and banking making headway.

The gauge, which rose over 91 points after a surprise 0.25% rate cut by RBI in its policy review on Tuesday, had gained 507.02 points in the previous three sessions.

There was a marked sense of optimism after IMF raised its growth projection for India in 2016-17 to a robust 7.6%, accelerating buying activity, brokers said.

However, soon after, the BSE Sensex gave up its gains and was trading at 28,318.62, down 15.93 points or 0.06% from previous day's close. While under the red line, Sensex was still above the 28,000-level. Nifty, however, fell below the crucial 8,800-level, and was trading at 8755.10, down 14.05 or -0.16%.

Major gainers were SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, PowerGrid, ITC, Tata Motors, RIL, Lupin, Bharti Airtel and GAIL, rising by up to 1.45%.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.57% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.45% in early trade. Financial markets in China are closed today for a public holiday. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.47% lower.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)