Sensex Ends 305 Points Higher; FMCG & Metal Stocks Witness Buying

After opening their day on a positive note, Indian share markets gave up some of their earlier gains and ended their session marginally higher. Gains were largely seen in the FMCG sector and metal sector, while realty stocks and banking stocks ended the day lower.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 305 points (up 0.8%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 82 points (up 0.7%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day up by 0.6%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 0.1%.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng was down 0.29% and the Nikkei was trading down by 0.27%. The Shanghai Composite stood lower by 0.33%.

The rupee was trading at 72.08 to the US$ at the time of writing.

Stocks of oil marketing companies and airline stocks were witnessing selling pressure today on the back of rising fuel prices.

The rise in prices has also raised criticism of the government not cutting excise duty on the heavily taxed petrol and diesel.

For a more detailed update on oil marketing companies, you can read our Energy sector report and check the latest Energy sector results.

The above rise in fuel prices is seen on the back of rising crude oil prices, which have hit US$ 80 per barrel. This is the highest level seen since November 2014.

In the past one year alone, oil prices have surged more than 50%.

Also note that rising crude oil prices not only affect fuel prices, but also has many other repercussions for the Indian economy.

They can be a big worry for the Modi government as well.

Have a look at the chart below. It shows India’s total import bill of crude oil and petroleum products on an annual basis during the Manmohan Singh regime and the Narendra Modi regime.

It is clearly evident that the Modi government has been a big beneficiary of lower crude oil prices.