Sensex up 69 points; IT, TECk stocks major gainers

The Sensex and Nifty were trading marginally in the green in the afternoon session on Monday led by IT, TECk, bank and realty sector stocks amid weak global cues.

At 1.00 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 69.20 points (0.34 per cent) at 20,597.79 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 13.5 points (0.22 per cent) at 6,109.70.

All major indices were in the green. Volatility index, India Vix was near flat at 23.5.

Among BSE sectoral indices, IT was up 1.84 per cent, followed by TECk 1.52 per cent, Bankex 0.55 per cent and Auto 0.29 per cent.

FMCG, Consumer Durables and Power indices lost investors' support and were down 0.43 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 0.13 per cent, respectively.

TCS, Wipro, SSLT, Dr Reddy's and Hero MotoCorp were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were BHEL, Hindalco, Tata Steel, GAIL and Cipla.

The Nifty and the Sensex opened flat due to profit-booking by speculators coupled with industrial output for August.

Domestic sentiment was also dampened as global markets were still uncertain as to when the US Congress would raise the country’s borrowing capacity.

The Nifty opened at 6,093, down three points, while the Sensex opened at 20,535, up six points.

Both European and Asian markets were down as US lawmakers were yet to reach an accord on raising the nation's debt ceiling and restoring the government operations.

Stoxx 50 was down 15.06 points or 0.51 per cent at 2,959.22, FTSE 100 fell 19.69 points or 0.3 per cent to 6,467.50 and DAX shed 46.08 points or 0.53 per cent to 8,678.75.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew pointed out that brinkmanship could have potentially catastrophic impact of default, possibility of a significant loss in the value of the dollar and markedly elevated US interest rates and negative spillover effects to the global economy, and real risk of a financial crisis and recession that could echo the events of 2008 or worse.

In his testimony last week to the US Senate Finance Committee on debt limit, he said: “If interest rates rose, it would have a real impact on American households. The stock market, including investments in retirement accounts, could tumble, and it could become more expensive for Americans to buy a car, own a home, and open a small business. These additional costs of borrowing could not easily be undone and our actions would impact Americans for generations to come. Failing to raise the debt ceiling will impact everyday Americans beyond its impact on financial markets. For example, doctors receiving reimbursements under Medicare would likely continue to provide services on a timely basis, but they would be operating with significant uncertainty about when they would be paid by the Government for their services. The bottom line is that failing to raise the debt ceiling creates a very difficult and unfair situation, and one that is completely avoidable if Congress acts.''