Indian equity shares rose on Wednesday, ending a record-setting year, with hopes that the momentum would sustain in 2015 should the government announce additional economic reforms and the central bank start cutting interest rates.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended the session at 27,499.42, up 95.88 points or 0.35 per cent and the 50-share NSE index ended at 8,282.70, up 34.45 points or 0.42 per cent. The BSE benchmark has ended 2014 calendar year with the best annual gain in five years.
Power and infrastructure stocks were among the gainers on hopes of reform measures. However, auto stocks fell on reports that the government will not extend tax breaks to auto makers beyond December 31.
Infrastructure index gained the most by 1.23 per cent, followed by power 1.03 per cent, realty 1.01 and consumer durables 0.93 per cent. Only auto index was down 0.28 per cent.
Gainers, losers
Major Sensex gainers were BHEL 3.35%, NTPC 1.8%, Dr Reddy's 1.74%, Reliance 1.41% and Tata Power 1.1%, while the top five losers were M&M 1.69%, HDFC Bank 0.42%, Bajaj Auto 0.4%, Maruti 0.4% and HUL 0.34%.
Early trade
The 30-share index rose 31.16 points or 0.11 per cent to 27,434.70 points with the stocks of metal, realty, banking, healthcare, oil & gas sectors leading the gains.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 14.20 points or 0.17 per cent to 8,262.45.
Brokers' comment
Brokers said selective buying in index-related stocks by participants and a firm trend in global markets mainly influenced the trading sentiment.
During 2014, the Sensex shot up over 29 per cent, while the Nifty climbed 31 per cent.
European markets
European stock markets were expected to be steady at the open on Wednesday in a shortened trading session, with many of the region's markets either closed or having only a half-day.
France's CAC futures were up by 0.4 per cent, while spreadbetters at Spreadex and CMC Markets saw Britain's FTSE 100 opening flat to up by 6 points. Germany's DAX equity index was closed on Wednesday, having ended down 1.2 per cent on Tuesday.
Asian markets
Asian markets were ending 2014 on a cautionary note on Wednesday as worries about Greece's future in the euro zone served as an excuse to take profits on crowded trades, though Chinese stocks seemed destined for their best year in five.
Trade was thinned by holidays in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines, while many markets in Europe are either shut or finish early on Wednesday.
Australian and Singapore markets were flat for the day. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was ending the year almost exactly where it started.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 eased 0.49 per cent on Tuesday but was still on track for a third straight year of double-digit returns. The Dow fell 0.31 per cent, while the Nasdaq lost 0.61 per cent.