Stock market indices end higher on Airtel boost, rebound in factory data

Domestic stock market closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by Bharti Airtel Ltd’s gains after the country’s top court gave mobile carriers 10 years to pay dues owed to the government, with encouraging manufacturing data supporting risk appetite.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,900.80, up 273 points, or 0.71 per cent with Bharti Airtel (up over 6 per cent) being the top gainer and ONGC (down over 3 per cent) the biggest loser. NSE's Nifty ended at 11,470, up 83 points or 0.73 per cent. India VIX declined over 5 per cent to 21.67 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended over 1 per cent higher at 14,832 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,413, up 77 points, or 0.54 per cent. 

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 6.38 per cent, after the Supreme Court granted 10 years to telecom firms for paying the adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues to the government with certain conditions.

Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, NTPC and SBI were among the other gainers.

On the other hand, ONGC, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and ICICI Bank were among the laggards, dropping up to 3.29 per cent.

Meanwhile, India's manufacturing sector activity re-entered the growth territory in August after four months, driven by a rebound in production volumes and improvement in customer demand following resumption of business operations, a monthly survey showed.

(With inputs from agencies)