Equity indices close in the green, Nifty realty gains 6.4 pc

Equity benchmark indices shaved off early gains but closed in the positive terrain on Thursday ahead of the expiry of August series derivative contracts.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 40 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 39,113 while the Nifty 50 gained by 10 points or 0.08 per cent at 11,559.

Except for Nifty FMCG and IT, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty realty gaining by 6.4 per cent and auto by 1 per cent.

Most real estate stocks surged after the Maharashtra government's move to cut stamp duty. DLF Ltd advanced by 9.9 per cent while Sunteck Realty jumped by 7.2 per cent, Godrej Realty by 7 per cent and Oberoi Realty by 6.9 per cent.

IndusInd Bank gained by 6.5 per cent to Rs 604.70 per share while Axis bank ticked up by 2.1 per cent. Auto majors too witnessed smart gains with Mahindra & Mahindra moving up by 4.2 per cent, Tata Motors by 4.1 per cent and Maruti Suzuki by 1.5 per cent.

However, shares of Hindustan Aeronautics plunged by 14 per cent to Rs 1,010.95 per share after the company said that the government plans to sell its 15 per cent stake through a public offering of shares.

The others which lost were ONGC, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Ad Ports.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were down despite Wall Street's record run overnight as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell prepared to outline a more flexible approach to the policy later during the day (local time).

Japan's Nikkei eased by 0.35 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 0.83 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )