Nifty gains for third straight day

FE Team | Published: July 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

MUMBAI, July 17 (Reuters): The Nifty rose for a third straight session on Thursday as lenders such as Kotak Mahindra Bank extended gains on upbeat sentiment as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) exempted long-term bonds for the infrastructure sector from reserve requirements.
Also, overseas investors bought shares worth of 6.21 billion rupees ($103.5 million) on Wednesday, provisional exchange data showed.
Sentiment also got a boost as the monsoon rains were 15 per cent below average in the past week, against 41 per cent below average rainfall in the previous week, the weather office data showed.
Broader gains were although capped on caution ahead of key earnings such as from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd due later in the day and Reliance Industries Ltd on Saturday.
"Markets are likely to trade range-bound in the short term. Corporate earnings are the immediate trigger and there would be stock-specific movements. There could be some profit booking in select stocks, however, long-term trend is still bullish," said Suresh Parmar, head, institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.
The broader Nifty rose 0.21 per cent, or 16.05 points, to end at 7,640.45, marking its second straight highest close since July 7, when it hit a record closing high.
The benchmark Sensex edged up 0.04 per cent, or 11.44 points, to end at 25,561.16.
Kotak Mahindra Bank ended 3.4 per cent higher, while State Bank of India Ltd rose 1 per cent.
The RBI said on Tuesday it will allow long-term bonds raised by banks for infrastructure lending to be exempted from mandatory reserve requirements, in line with the government's announcement in the budget last week.
Kotak also gained after raising foreign institutional investment (FII) limit to 40 per cent.
Defensive stocks also rose on caution ahead of key earnings. In healthcare shares, Lupin Ltd gained 2.6 per cent while Cipla Ltd rose 1.1 per cent.
Glenmark Pharmaceuti-cals Ltd also rose 1.4 per cent after the company said it plans to set up a new manufacturing facility in the United States.