Share Market Today: Thirty one out of 50 Nifty stocks advanced in trade.Domestic stock markets started the month on a lacklustre note, despite easing ofconcerns about the central bank's autonomyand strong global cues.
The marketsswung between gains and losses amid cautious trade aslosses in IT stocks offset gains in banking, metal and infrastructure shares.
At the day's highest point, the Sensex traded with a gain of237 points to cross the 34,650 mark but gave up most of those gains by afternoon.
The Nifty climbed 55 points to touch an intraday high of10,441.At 1:46 pm, the Sensex was trading34 points higher at34,476 while the Nifty was flat at10,389.Top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Yes Bank, LT, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Hindustan Petroleum, trading between 3.5 per cent and 7.4 per cent higher.The Nifty Bank - comprising banking stocks - was up 0.8 per cent.On the other hand, the Nifty IT was down 2 per cent, dragged lower by Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra, which were trading between 2.6 and 3.5 per cent lower.Shares in other Asian markets rose, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.9 per cent, adding to modest gains the previous day, though this came after a brutal October.The rupee edged higher against dollar to touch73.84 against the dollar.Easing of concerns around the riftbetween the government and the RBI, after the Finance Ministry said the autonomy for the central bank was an "essential and accepted" governance requirement, lifted the the rupee.
Selling of the dollar by importers and weakness in the greenback overseas also provided support to the rupee.In the commodities market, global oil prices extended previous session's losses amid signs of rising supply and growing concerns that demand might weaken on the prospect of a global economic slowdown.
Brent crude futures - the global benchmark for crude oil - traded below $75 a barrel.Domestic markets faced a tumultuous October, weighed down by a range of issues, including liquidity concerns and a public spat between the country's government and the central bank.
The Nifty on Wednesday registered its worst monthly fall since February 2016.(With agency inputs)