Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices on Thursday (January 16) ended on a positive note with the Sensex closing 59.83 points high or 0.14% at 41,932.56, and the Nifty too was up 10.70 points or 0.09% at 12,354. Major gainers on the Nifty were Eicher Motors, Nestle India, Zee Entertainment, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel, while GAIL, Bharti Infratel, NTPC, JSW Steel and Hindalco Industries were major losers.
Except for metal and energy, all other sectoral indices ended with marginal gains.
In the afternoon session, the benchmark indices reversed morning gains and traded lower as global oil prices rose after the United States and China signed phase one of the trade agreement.
Under the deal to call a truce in a trade war between the world`s two biggest economies, China committed to buying over 50 billion dollars more of US oil, liquefied natural gas and other energy products over two years.
At 12:30 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex down by 29 points to 41,844 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 12 points at 12,331. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty metal slipping by 1.43 per cent.
During early hours on Thursday, equity indices were buoyant on strong global cues. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 125 points to 41,998 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 32 points at 12,375. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green except for Nifty metal which slipped by 0.96 per cent.
Meanwhile, global stocks inched ahead to a record high after the United States and China signed an initial deal to defuse their 18-month trade war, though financial markets were wary as several thorny issues remained unresolved.
The disputes between the world`s two largest economies have weighed on global economic growth and hampered investments.
(With Agency Inputs)
