Mumbai

Indian benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty snapped the three-day losing streak and settled in the positive territory on Wednesday, mirroring a rally in global markets and supported by buying in blue-chips Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

Market analysts said Indian equities closed with gains on better-than-expected US job market data and optimism over trade talks between the US and Chinese President this week also added optimism to markets recovery.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 260.74 points, or 0.32 per cent, to settle at 80,998.25. During the day, it jumped 349.78 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 81,087.29.

The NSE Nifty went up 77.70 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 24,620.20.

From the Sensex firms, Eternal climbed 3.32 per cent. Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and Hindustan Unilever were the other major gainers.

However, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

"Indian equities closed with gains following positive global cues with Nifty-50 up 0.32 per cent at 24,620. US markets ended higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected April job openings data, indicating resilience in the US labour market despite concerns over tariff policies.

"Further, Asian indices ended in the positive on optimism over trade talks between the US and Chinese President this week," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.76 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.58 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, telecommunication jumped 1.35 per cent, utilities (0.99 per cent), teck (0.75 per cent), energy (0.69 per cent), commodities (0.56 per cent), oil & gas (0.53 per cent) and metal (0.51 per cent).

Bankex and realty were the laggards.

As many as 2,071 stocks advanced while 1,933 declined and 151 remained unchanged on the BSE.

"We expect the market to remain in consolidation mode, tracking global markets and macro-economic cues; while stock-specific action would continue on the back of sectoral developments," Khemka added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.14 per cent to USD 65.72 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,853.83 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 636.24 points, or 0.78 per cent, to settle at 80,737.51. The Nifty plunged 174.10 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 24,542.50.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the Indian services growth broadly steadied in May and was underpinned by healthy demand conditions, new client wins and greater staffing capacity.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index was at 58.8 in May, marginally up from April's 58.7 and signalled another sharp rate of expansion.