Markets end higher amid volatility, FMCG leads

Markets ended higher, amid a volatile trading session, on the back of strong buying interest in FMCG majors Hindustan Unilever and ITC.

The Sensex ended up 98 points at 19,927 and the Nifty gained 18 points to end at 5,973.

Asian shares ended mixed on Wednesday ahead of a congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, which could offer clarity on when the US central bank will reduce its stimulus, while the dollar came off a three-week low.

The Shanghai Composite and Straits Times ended marginally lower while Nikkei and Hang Seng ended up 0.1-0.3% each.

European markets pared early gains and most indices were trading lower after the Bank of England maintained status quo on key interest rates.

CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were down 0.4-0.5% each.

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BSE FMCG index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on the BSE, up 3.4% followed by Consumer Durables, IT, Power, Oil and Gas indices. Most other indices were trading lower with Bankex, Metal, Auto, Realty and Capital Goods indices among the top losers.

Hindustan Unilever was the top Sensex gainer after the stock zoomed 9.9% to end at Rs 685. In the F&O segment there was a significant build-up of long positions and the open interest position was up 28%. ITC ended up 2.3% at Rs 368. Analysts expect volume growth in the cigarette business to boost margins.

Shares of software majors gained on the back of weakening rupee. TCS and Infosys ended up 0.7-1.5% each.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries ended up 1.6% at Rs 915.

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Bank shares extended losses after Reserve Bank of India's measures to stem the fall in the rupee and increase in borrowing costs would hurt credit growth and also impact net interest margins. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI ended down 1-2.4% each.

Auto majors Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki ended down 1.9-2.2% each on concerns of sales growth slowdown amid sluggish demand and high cost of auto loans.

Among other stocks, Eicher Motors ended 3.3% higher at Rs 3,899 after the overseas investors have increased their stake in the company by over 3 percentage points during April-June quarter.

Development Credit Bank ended up 0.4% at Rs 50 in opening deals on BSE after its net profit more-than-double to Rs 43 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1FY2014) due to one time treasury gains.

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Sabero Organics Gujarat jumped 19% to end at Rs 124 after reporting a net profit of Rs 9.45 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1) on back of strong operational income. The agrochemicals company had net loss of Rs 1.89 crore in a year ago quarter.

Shasun Pharmaceuticals has surged 3.7% to end at Rs 75 after the company said it has successfully completed United States' Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) and Brazilian ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency) inspections of API facility at Puducherry.

The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ended down 0.2-0.5% each.

Market breadth ended weak 1,289 declines and 1,031 advances on the BSE.