Sensex rises for fifth day to two-month high as IT shares lag; services PMI at 55.8

Indian shares rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, taking both benchmark indices to two-month highs, as gains in capital goods, property and smaller companies outweighed a fall in information technology stocks.

The BSE Sensex closed 383.55 points, or 0.50%, higher at 77,301.40, and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 149.75 points, or 0.63%, to 23,960.60, according to Business Standard and Zee Business. Broader markets did better: the Nifty Midcap 100 gained about 1.6% and the Smallcap 100 about 2%, the public broadcaster News On AIR reported. On the BSE, 3,074 shares rose and 1,313 fell.

Bharat Electronics (up 4.6%), Titan (4.3%) and IndiGo (2.4%) led the Sensex, while TCS (down 2.7%), HCL Technologies (2.2%) and Infosys (1.7%) were the biggest drags. Twenty-six of the 28 BSE sector indices ended higher, led by capital goods, up 3.6%. The IT index fell about 1.2%.

Data released on Wednesday showed India's services sector growing at its fastest pace in four months. The HSBC India Services PMI, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 55.8 in October from 55.2 in September; a reading above 50 means expansion. The composite index, which includes manufacturing, rose to 56.2 from 55.9. Input cost growth was the slowest in more than six years, the survey said.

The gains extend Tuesday's 1,225-point rise in the Sensex.