Mumbai, Jan 8 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices ended higher for the third straight session Tuesday on widespread buying towards the fag-end amid fresh inflows by foreign funds and positive global cues.
The BSE Sensex spurted 130.00 points to end at 35,980.93, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 30.35 points to 10,802.15.
Both indices were traded in the negative zone through the session as investors booked profits in recent gainers amid weakness in the rupee due to rise in global crude prices.
However, with the emergence of buying towards the close of the session, Sensex wiped off losses and hit a high of 36,037.35 before settling 0.36 per cent higher.
The index had rallied 336.45 points in the previous two straight sessions. The 50-share NSE Nifty settled 0.28 per cent higher. Intra-day, it touched a low of 10,733.25 and a high of 10,818.45.
Market was choppy through most of the session as investors turned cautious and logged gains ahead of Q3 earnings of bluechip companies such as TCS and Infosys later this week amid fresh weakness in the rupee which again breached the Rs 70-mark against a dollar.
However, losses were capped on Central Statistics Office’s positive advanced estimates of national income for 2018-19.
The domestic economy is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018-19 against 6.7 per cent in the previous fiscal mainly due to improvement in the performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors, the CSO had said Monday.
Top gainers include Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, SBI, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd Bank, rising up to 3.98 per cent.
While losers include Kotak Bank, NTPC, HDFC, HUL, Bajaj Finance and M&M, falling up to 1.41 per cent.
Fresh spell of buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) also buoyed trading sentiments, traders said.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 736.18 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 141.97 crore, while on Monday, provisional data showed.
