Indian stock markets advanced on Wednesday, with BSE Sensex trading above 20,000, as gains in realty and banking sector shares offered support.
The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 0.19 percent or 38.54 points to 20,020.11, and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 0.13 percent or 8.10 points to 6,056.60.
Among the sectoral indices in BSE, realty and technology sectors gained 0.42 percent and 0.37 percent, respectively, while consumer durable and auto sectors fell 0.82 percent and 0.70 percent, respectively.
Banking sector shares advanced on hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank at its monetary policy meeting next week. HDFC Bank gained 1.12 percent and Federal Bank advanced 0.76 percent while SBI rose 0.68 percent.
Bharti Airtel surged 3.80 percent and Idea Cellular advanced 1.78 percent on news that both the companies have increased voice call charges.
"The overall market is trading positive on expectation of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India. Only specific stocks like Hindustan Unilever are seeing some selling on worries over its future profits," Harish Vasudevan, a strategist at SVS Securities, a local brokerage, told the Wall Street Journal.
United Spirits shares advanced 2.67percent after the company stock was initiated with “buy” rating at Deutsche Bank with a price target of ₹2,700.
The overall market breadth was negative with 1085 advanced against 1548 declines. The BSE's Midcap Index declined 0.41 percent to 7,060.93 and Smallcap Index fell 0.22 percent to 7,295.94. CNX midcap Index declined 0.34 percent and CNX IT fell 0.10 percent.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets mostly declined on Wednesday. Japanese stocks extended losses for the third straight session as the yen snapped its weak run and strengthened against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced on Tuesday that the new scheme for additional purchases will only come into effect in January 2014.
