Sensex gained 321 points on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India announced series of measures to make fund-raising easier for infrastructure companies on Tuesday.
The benchmark index opened on a positive note at 25,322 against the previous close of 25,229. It touched a high of 25,603 and low of 25,247 before closing at 25,550. The turnover on BSE was higher at Rs 3,541 crore against Rs 2,684 crore recorded on Tuesday.
In NSE, the Nifty was up 98 points at 7,624.
The RBI exempted banks from maintaining cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio on funds raised through bonds for funding infrastructure and real estate sectors.
This apart, the market sentiment was boosted by the country’s exports registering a growth of 10.22 per cent in June, helped by a pickup in external demand and a weak currency. However, the overall trade deficit remains a cause of concern.
The country exports grew 10 per cent to $26.4 billion in June while imports stood at $38.24 billion, up by 8.33 per cent, leaving a trade deficit of $11.76 billion.
Some of the banking stocks that gained include Axis Bank (up 4%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.2%), HDFC Bank (up 1.07%), Yes Bank (up 2%), and ICICI Bank (up 5%).
Kotak Mahindra Bank rose two per cent to Rs 884 after it announced seven per cent increase in net profit at Rs 430 crore on one per cent growth in income at Rs 2,686 crore in the June quarter.
Among the infrastructure stocks that gained include L&T (up 2%), Jaiprakash Associates (up 4%), Punj Lloyd (up 5%), IVRCL (up 5%), GVK Power Infrastructure (up 5%), Lanco Infratech (up 5%), GMR Infrastructure (up 3%) and IRB Infrastructure Developers (up 6%).